Dark Sapphire
by SapphireIceheartt
Summary: Sapphire is the daughter of the Lich King, and has lived her entire live in the Scourge. A darker version of Frozen Sapphire. Rated M for a reason.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, no one said no for my poll, so here is the darker version of my story, Frozen Sapphire. Suggestions are appreciated. This is a side project, something to do when I am feeling sadistic or evil(which is about 37% of the time)

* * *

The children were all asleep. The orphanage was silent. Toys were strewn about the floor, hazardous to anyone that wasn't paying attention.

The deathknight was. He angrily sidestepped all of the wooden swords, colorful animals, and dolls. His instruction was to get the child without being noticed. It took all of his self-control and obedience to not kill every single child in the room. It wouldn't even be that hard. They were stupid, and the first dozen or so wouldn't even wake the others. Even then, none would scream for a while. And those that worked and lived at the orphanage would just think one was having a nightmare. The last nightmare they would ever have.

The deathknight cursed silently, imagining how much blood would cover the room if he were allowed to do things his way. Kill everything except the child, get it, and then just walk out.

There it was, in a cradle, sound asleep. It was a fat, ugly thing. A ghoul was prettier than the lump lying there. In its tiny arms was a teddy bear. The deathknight hated those things. Real bears were vicious, powerful killers. Teddy bears told children that bears were cute and cuddly. The deathknight would have loved to let loose a bear in the orphanage. If any somehow survived, they would be terrified of bears for the rest of their miserable lives. But if the deathknight had brought a bear, it might have killed the kid. And that would mean the death of the deathknight.

He picked up the baby, and scowled. It was soft, and mushy. He could crush it without a thought. This was going to be hard.

It opened its eyes and looked at the deathknight. Then, started crying.

The deathknight freaked out. What was he supposed to do? How did he stop the crying without crushing it?

Quickly, he snatched up the teddy bear, and gave it to the kid. It stopped, and clutched the bear happily. The child giggled, and kicked its feet.

"Stupid piece of meat. Why was I left with this job? Why couldn't Marwyn do this?"

He made his way out of the orphanage, the child being quiet. It had started chewing on the teddy bear, covering it in saliva.

Falric left the city, avoiding the guards. He went through the woods. The trees grew large overhead, obscuring the sky. It was warm, but the child obviously did not like it. She was making little noises, and looked unhappy. Falric gritted his teeth. Her skull was so tempting to crush.

A hooded figure showed up in the forest, standing next to a horse. The horse whinnied, and shied away from the approaching deathknight. The figure grabbed its reins, and kept it there.

"Do you have it?"

Falric nodded. "Yes. Just as she was described."

The figure took off his hood. It was a cultist, with dark robes and pale skin.

"Female? No one told me it was a girl! What am I supposed to do with that?" He said in disgust.

Falric scowled, and protectively clutched at the baby. "You should have paid attention. Are you refusing to raise it?

"Yes. Yes I am. I didn't sign up to raise some little bitch-"

Falric switched his hold on the baby to free one hand, and grabbed the cultist by the throat.

"Consider yourself no longer signed up then."

He choked the man as he struggled. He crushed the man's windpipe, and dropped the body. He scowled at the baby.

"You are just making everything difficult, aren't you?"

The baby giggled, and grabbed her own foot. Her bright blue eyes stared up at Falric, and she raised both hands up. Her fingers made grasping movements. Falric growled put her down on a rock. Then, he went at the horse. It reared in fright, but Falric grabbed the reins. When the horse was secure, if scared, Falric retrieved the baby. He climbed up onto the horse and jammed his heels into its sides, nearly breaking its ribs.

The horse ran off with the deathknight and the baby.

* * *

The female cultists crowded around the cradle, talking and giggling. The little blue eyed girl watched them in confusion, her eyes spread wide. Falric leaned against the wall.

They were in the student's quarters of Scholomance. Falric had been ordered to bring the child to the school. Darkmaster Gandling had been happy with it, and taken the child to the students. One, by the name of Nicci, had a young child already with her, and was raising her in the school. The head master had decided she was the perfect cultist for the job of raising the child.

She had yet been given a name. For the moment, the cultists just called her Princess. They loved her.

A human cultist just walked in, with young girl following her. The woman was not even twenty yet, with dark black hair, and pale skin like the rest of the human cultists. She came walking over to Falric.

"Uh, I was summoned."

"Yes...Who's the brat?" Falric snarled, pointing at the young girl who was glaring at him.

"Her name is Lily. Lily...Be nice or he will kill you."

The girl looked at Nicci defiantly. "He couldn't kill a rat."

Falric wordlessly left, striding toward a corner of the room. He picked something up, and returned. It was a rat, squirming in his grip. Falric squeezed it, and grabbed its neck. The rat screamed uselessly. He pulled, and there was a horrible noise. He ripped the rat's head straight off. Blood sprayed everywhere. Falric then handed the rat to the young girl. She looked horrified. He pat her on the head, the blood on his gloves staining her hair. He turned to Nicci.

"I have another girl for you to take care of, but this one is worth more than all of the cultists in this room combined. Got it?"

Nicci looked surprised. Falric took her arm, and pushed past the cultists to the cradle. He pointed at it.

"Can you raise this?"

Nicci leaned over, and the baby squealed. She raised her hands and whined. The woman picked up the girl, rocking it back and forth. The girl giggled, and sucked on her hand.

"Why is she important?"

"Because she is _His_ child."

"What...No. How is th...that possible?" Nicci stuttered. Falric turned and left. The young girl, Lily, looked at the baby jealously. Falric thought that was good. A little competition would be good for the brat. And the piece of meat needed to be tough.

Before the deathknight left, he looked back. Nicci seemed scared stiff, holding the child with the greatest care. If anything happened to their Master's child, Nicci would be punished worse than she could imagine. Death would be a kindness.


	2. Chapter 2

"Wake up, Princess!"

Sapphire opened her eyes and barely avoided being smacked. She jumped up. With a quick move, she snatched her knife up and slashed it toward the voice. Lily jerked back, snarling. She had her own knife, and tried to hit Sapphire. The younger girl tackled Lily, knocking both to the ground. The bed overturned at the movement, falling onto the girls.

Lily's blade slipped on Sapphire's cheek. Pain, and the feeling of the wet went over Sapphire's face. Both girls sat up, and pushed the bed away.

Lily smirked, and touched Sapphire's face. Pulling her fingers away, Sapphire saw them covered in blood.

"Ha! Got you. Be faster next time, Princess."

Sapphire frowned. "Couldn't you be nice once in a while?"

Lily sat up, and went over to her own bed. The two were allowed their own room together. Candles glowed throughout the room. The floor was bare, cold to the touch. Silky strands in the corners of the ceiling were homes to spiders. Sapphire had named them all, before Lily had smashed them. A small chest in the corner held both Sapphire and Lily's clothing. The only personal items Sapphire had was a broken mirror, the knife still clutched in her hand, and a rock.

Sapphire picked up her mirror, and looked into it. The blood ran down her face, onto her neck. It did not hurt bad, but the blood was quite a lot. Sapphire tried to wipe it on the collar of her shirt.

The door to the bedroom opened. Nicci came walking it. Her black hair was draped over her shoulder as she was reading a book. She had some breakfast on a plate for the girls in the other hand.

"Girls, I brought-" Nicci looked up and saw Sapphire's face. She dropped both the book and tray, crying out.

"What happened?" She demanded.

Sapphire had a hard time lying to Nicci. "Lily cut me."

The older girl snarled, and threw her knife at Sapphire. It missed her, but Sapphire cowered down.

"Lily, go get Deidra. Oh, Oh no. Not today! Why did you choose today to hurt Sapphire?"

Lily blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Go! Now!" Nicci snapped, her tone taking on a dangerous edge. The girl wisely backed away, and left the room.

Sapphire was staring blankly at Nicci. Tilting her head, Sapphire ignored Nicci tending to her cheek.

"What's today? Tomorrow is my birthday. Is it someone's birthday?"

Nicci bit her lip, and scrubbed the blood from Sapphire's face. "Not exactly...Your uncle Marwyn is coming today. He'll be...taking you away to meet someone very important."

"Ooh...Is it my father?"

Nicci recoiled back, mouth gaping. "Who told you about him?"

"Lily. She told me my father was the Lich King. Is that true?" Sapphire whispered. Sticking out her lip, Sapphire pouted. She did that whenever she wanted something.

Nicci put her arms around the girl's shoulder, and hugged her tightly. Clear droplets of something fell onto Sapphire's arm. She looked up, and saw Nicci was crying.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, sweetheart. You will be fine."

* * *

Sapphire was taken to Marwyn. The girl clutched Nicci's hand tightly.

The deathknight was at the entrance of Scholomance, in the ruins of a old keep. Sapphire liked playing in the ruins, playing hide and seek with herself, or Lily when the older girl felt like it. Marwyn was leaning against a pillar, picking his fingernails with a knife. He looked up at the two girls approach.

"Ah! Sapphire, you little bitch. The Ravenian didn't eat you yet? That's a shame."

Sapphire suddenly bit her lip. She let go of Nicci's hand, and hid behind the woman's robes. Nicci sighed.

"Did you have to scare the child, Captain Marwyn?"

The deathknight shrugged. "I am sure He won't kill her. It won't benefit him in any way."

Sapphire leaned her head over to look at Marwyn. "Who won't kill me?"

The deathknight grinned evilly, and knelt down. Sapphire clutched at Nicci's robes. Her eyes were wide open and she expected Marwyn to scare her.

"Your father of course! Besides...If he does kill you, it will probably be quick. He was in a good mood last time I saw him."

Sapphire blinked. She slowly moved out from behind Nicci. She smiled.

"Daddy? Where is he? I want to meet him!"

Marwyn looked up at Nicci. "Well, She is willing. That's good. But Sapphire...Don't call him Daddy. That might get you a sword through your stomach."

Sapphire looked down at her stomach, and touched it. She thought swords were used to kill people.

"Wouldn't that hurt?"

Nicci suddenly pushed Sapphire over to Marwyn. The woman fled, sobbing. Sapphire frowned. She felt like her birthday was not going to be very nice.

* * *

Sapphire looked up at the big castle. Marwyn called it a citadel, but Sapphire had read story books. The dark, pointed towers and huge walls showed Sapphire that it was castle. It was huge. Sapphire thought the spikes were a little scary, but not terrifying.

Snow was drifting down in puffy flakes of white. It was extremely cold, worse than Sapphire had ever experienced. She was bundled up in three layers of clothing, and was still shivering. She couldn't even feel her toes or fingers.

Marwyn took her up a huge flight of stairs. The castle wasn't finished being built. Sapphire saw a lot of undead working on things. The girl was taken to a set of doors, which Marwyn opened. Sapphire wondered how nice it looked inside. The deathknight led her in.

Stark walls, plain floors, and high ceilings weren't what she expected. Everything looked cold and uninviting. Hooded cultists walked about, heads bowed. None spoke a word. Sapphire was feeling scared. She wished she had Nicci to hug her.

Marwyn wasn't perturbed. He took Sapphire through winding hallways. Then, to a room.

It wasn't a large room to Sapphire. Strange instruments were lined along the walls, and a strange table was set up in the middle. A man lay on it. Blood, more than Sapphire had ever seen, was dripping down to a drain in the floor. Sapphire stared at the pool of red. There was quite a lot.

Marwyn went over to a seat on the opposite side of the room. Another deathknight was sitting on it, if Sapphire had to judge from the armor.

"Master. I have brought your daughter. A gift from Scholomance."

When the Lich King stood up, Sapphire made an involuntary action. Warm liquid ran down her legs.

She was terrified. Her father wore the normally scary armor of a deathknight, with skulls and spikes on it. His face was hidden by a horrible helm that was even spikier than his castle. But that wasn't what terrified her.

His glowing blue eyes seemed to suck out her happiness. They replaced it with mind-numbing fear. It wracked her tiny body painfully. Before he could even speak, Sapphire's legs gave out. She collapsed, banging her head on the hard floor. Everything went dark.


	3. Chapter 3

When Sapphire woke up, she was attacked by something furry. It was licking her. She tried to open her eyes, but the pink tongue licked her all over. Sapphire moaned, and tried to push the thing away. There was a bark, and the thing put its tongue in the girl's mouth.

Sapphire shrieked, and pushed it hard. She sat up. Something hit the floor with a thunk and a yip.

The girl saw that she was in a tiny room, with nothing but a bed in it. She crawled over the edge of the bed, and looked at the floor.

A little grey dog was licking himself. It looked up at her with dead eyes, and barked.

"Hello!" Sapphire said with a smile. She reached down. The puppy growled, showing off tiny teeth. He didn't look that good. A bit of his spine rose up in a mat of fur. His tail was nothing but bones. When he stood up on two legs, Sapphire could see his insides draping out from a big hole in his stomach.

Sapphire picked him up, and planted him next to her on the bed. The puppy wagged his tail, and rubbed his head against her hand.

The dog woofed, and licked her furiously.

Suddenly, the door opened. Sapphire cried out, expecting her father. She grabbed the thin blanket that had been covering her, and cowered underneath it.

"Hey kid. It's just me!"

Sapphire looked out from under the blanket. Marwyn grinned at her.

The girl sat up, and then hugged the puppy that was vying for her attention. The dog licked her chin, and barked.

Marwyn sat down next to the girl. "Happy Birthday! You like the mutt? I had a cultist look for a dead dog for your birthday. Found this little guy from behind a mansion in Stormwind. I named him Rot."

Sapphire patted the dog on the head "Hello, Rot."

The dog licked its own nose, and sniffed Sapphire. He looked down at his exposed organs, and lowered his head. He started licking them. Marwyn grimaced.

"You might want to sew him up."

Sapphire nodded, feeling sick. She looked up at Marwyn.

"Uncle Mar...What happened yesterday?"

"Oh...You passed out. It was very amusing. Enough to make your father not kill you."

Sapphire curled up, and hugged her knees. "He scared me."

"That's okay. I'm surprised you didn't die from fear. That was rather impressive."

The girl frowned, and hugged Rot.

Marwyn stood up. He gestured to the bare room. "Well. This is your room now. I'll see if I can find you some furniture."

The deathknight went off, leaving the girl alone with her new dog. Rot woofed, and hopped off the bed. He ran off through the open door. Sapphire gasped.

"No! Rot, come back!"

She ran after him. The dog ran down a hallway, and barked like mad. Sapphire sprinted, and caught up with the puppy just as he was sniffing at the wall. When Sapphire got to him, she saw that it was not a wall. It was made of fabric. Rot pushed himself underneath the bottom, and disappeared. Sapphire quickly pushed it aside.

The girl looked around the room. Dark cloth hung on the walls. There was a mix of shapes carved into the floor. Sapphire looked at it curiously, but the barking of Rot caught her attention.

The dog was hopping at a dark, ornate chair. Sapphire approached him. Rot scratched at the chair, trying to get up onto it. Sapphire picked up the dog, and sat down on the chair. Sapphire was tiny on it, but she curled up and put Rot next to her. She rubbed the dog on his head, and noticed he only had one ear.

"Aw. Did you lose an ear, puppy?"

Rot whined, and laid his head down. His eyes were full of sadness. Sapphire pet him some more.

"Don't worry. I will see if I can find you a new one."

Rot lifted his head and tilted it. Then, he laid it back down, licking his muzzle.

Sapphire sat there for a long time. She felt so tired and hungry, but she didn't know a clue on where to find something to eat. Rot lifted his head, and growled.

The girl looked at him. "What's wrong Rot?"

When she followed the dog's gaze, Sapphire screamed and jumped off of the chair. Her father had entered silently in the room.

Sapphire grabbed Rot, and crawled behind the chair.

"Get out here, child," Her father's voice boomed. Sapphire cried out in fright, and squeezed Rot. The dog squirmed.

She leaned forward, looking past the throne. She saw heavy, metal boots. Sapphire whimpered, and retreated back behind the chair.

"Come here, or I will cut your throat."

Sapphire crawled out, and refused to look up. She approached the metal boots, and refused to look higher. Rot jumped out of her grip, and stood between her and her father. The puppy growled angrily, and barked.

Her father ignored the creature.

"My old friend Marwyn told me you were full of potential. I think he is an idiot."

Sapphire bit her lip.

"Stay out of my way, little rat, and I won't snap your spine. Now, get out of my throne room. And never sit there again."

Sapphire picked up Rot. She ran off, not paying attention to where she was going at all. Rot bit her, which caused her to drop him. The puppy ran off. The girl brushed away some of her tears, but they kept coming. Sapphire let herself be led by Rot.

Rot led her to a pair of double doors. He scratched at one, barking. Sapphire sat next to him, hugging herself. Her face was cold, with frozen tears on her face.

One of the doors opened, and a cultist woman came out. Her skin was paler than Nicci's, and she had tattoos on her neck and face. The woman scowled.

"Where did you come from, brat?"

Sapphire rubbed her eyes. "I'm Sapphire. My Daddy the Lich King told me to go away."

The response was instant. The woman gasped, and picked up Sapphire. Rot protested, and followed in after her.

There were ovens, and pantries in the room. Sapphire saw tables full of metal plates and cups. The cultist woman set her down on one of the tables. Sapphire nodded. Rot tried to hop onto the table, but it was too high for him.

"There you go, sweetheart. Are you hungry?" The woman asked. Sapphire nodded.

The woman went off to fix the girl something to eat. Sapphire looked down at Rot. The dog wagged his bony tail and twirled around. Sapphire smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

If any of you are interested...Extract of Dolphin has a Facebook page! I will be saying it again for the Frozen Nightmares update for those that don't read this story but read the main one. I will try to draw Ethan and Sapphire in their real story roles. Imagine Sapphire holding a baby sea otter, and Ethan sitting in a captain's chair. I definitely must redraw Wendel. You people are going to surprised on what I did with him.

You guys are going to be so ENRAGED on who I've made Sapphire's Scourge crush this time around. Read on, my cultists...Read on. Hate on me all you want. I found it amusing to write. Maybe Ethan Calwood will guest review on this blatantly horrible coupling? Arthas has reviewed many times.

* * *

Sapphire impatiently strode up to a pair of deathknights. A leather bag was slung over Sapphire's shoulder. Her black robes kept her warm in the dark, icy corridor.

The deathknights knew who she was, and why she was there. Without question, they opened the double doors for her.

The young fifteen year old nodded thanks to the two deatknights. She trotted down the steps, going deeper and deeper. Sconces in the walls glowed blue. Ice grew on the corners of the steps, and rats fled as Sapphire descended.

Cell doors lined the saronite walls at the end of the stairs. Moans, sighs, and screams echoed in the hall. Sapphire ignored the noises of despair as she continued walking. Hands grasped out of barred windows, crying to be let out. Sapphire did not even look at them.

She found an open door that had screaming emitting from it. Sapphire looked in.

A human woman was on a table, writhing in pain. Two men, with rotting limbs, and missing body parts, stood over her. Sapphire didn't know either of them. She didn't know any of the torturers. Marwyn would have a fit if she spoke with them.

Sapphire watched in the doorway, eyes wide.

The undead used spiked implements to tear open the woman's skin. Sapphire watched as pale skin was ripped aside. Red explode outward. Lines of blood dripped down her. Bits of flesh was ripped away. What was once smooth became churned up. Sapphire winced when the shrieking grew louder.

Sapphire opened her bag, and took out a notebook and a stick of charcoal. She started writing, and occasionally looked up when the torturers did some other form of pain.

Marwyn found her sitting on the floor, still hiding.

"Sapphire...What are you doing?"

The girl looked up, and quickly hid her notebook. Marwyn grabbed her by her robe's collar, and pulled her up.

"I thought I told you not to keep sneaking down here. I must have a word with the guards," He said angrily. Sapphire didn't look up. Marwyn took her out of the dungeons. Sapphire struggled, trying to push away from the deathknight.

"Mar! You're not my father."

The deathknight shook her. "I'm as good as, you little piece of shit. Don't you have something to be? Like...class?"

Sapphire hissed. "I can learn more down in the dungeons than I can in school. I want to see a paladin. Is there one down there?"

"You ever go down there again, and I will beat you so hard that your children will feel it!"

Sapphire scowled, and squirmed in Marwyn's grip. "I don't even have children!"

The deathknight rubbed his face with one hand. "You will have them eventually if I can keep you alive that long."

"Ew. I don't want kids."

They went down a hallway, and to a set of doors. Marwyn let go of Sapphire, and instead, hugged her. Sapphire gasped at the harsh feel of armor. The deathknight opened the door, and pointed.

"Go. And try not to get into a fight this time?"

Sapphire nodded. Marwyn stomped off.

* * *

Rot barked angrily, and scrambled on the floor. He twirled around, and nipped at Sapphire's ankles. Sapphire just continued to write. Rot smacked Sapphire with one paw. He woofed, and bit her hard.

"Ow! Rot...I need to finish this paper on the effects of the Plague on animals."

Rot tilted his head, and sniffed her leg. He rolled around on the floor, and wagged his tail. He barked. Sapphire looked down at him. She was in her room, sitting at the tiny table Marwyn had long found for her. He had found her a stool too, which was what she was sitting on. The only other objects in her room were her bed, and a chest to keep her clothes and other belongings. Books, which Marwyn smuggled for her, were hidden under her bed. Most of them were fiction books, telling of adventures of nonexistent people. Sapphire loved them, having friends in the form of the knights, druids, hunters, and warriors that populated the books.

Sapphire got bit by Rot again. The girl sighed, and stopped writing. Rot wagged his tail furiously as she paid attention to him, rubbing his fuzzy chest, and massaging his scruffy neck.

"Hey...Who's a good boy, fluffy wuffy."

Rot barked, and licked her fingers. She picked him up, and examined her stitchwork on his stomach.

"Haven't ripped your belly today? Definitely a good boy! Marwyn hasn't been able to find me a lot of stitching supplies lately."

There was a knock on the door, and Sapphire gasped. She quickly dropped Rot into her open clothes chest. Rot woofed indignantly. Sapphire slammed the lid down and sat on it.

"Come in!"

Her father came in, making Sapphire gasp. She lowered her head submissively.

"Master..." She muttered.

His voice spoke coldly.

"Daughter. I have come to ask after you. Is the needs of your living body being sufficiently fulfilled?"

"Yes, Master."

"And your...emotional state?"

"Perfectly fine," Sapphire answered, clasping her hands together. Rot scratched at the wooden sides of the chest and howled.

Her father heard.

"What is that?"

Sapphire bit her lip. "My dog, Rot. I've had him for years."

The Lich King laughed. Sapphire never knew if his laughing was good or bad. She saw him approached her, and quickly stood up. Sapphire refused to look up.

Her father opened the chest, and Rot woofed happily. Sapphire watched in silent horror as the Lich King picked up Rot. The dog wagged his tail. Sapphire looked up. Her father held Rot up, and the dog sniffed the Helm on the Lich King's head. The puppy licked it. Sapphire expected her father to crush Rot then and there, but her father just laughed again.

"How adorable. Here. Take this piece of flesh."

He handed Rot to Sapphire, who was stunned. Every single time her father had spoken to her over the years, he had never seem so...friendly. Sapphire didn't say a word as her father walked out. She blinked, and looked at Rot. Rot woofed.

"What just happened?"

"Arf!"

* * *

Sapphire looked around Sword's Rest. The room was large and empty. Wisps of energy flowed around the room, especially around Frostmourne. The rune blade, belonging to Sapphire's father, slowly revolved above its pedestal. Sapphire clutched a skull in her hand.

She slowly walked toward the sword. It always tempted her to touch it, but Sapphire knew that might be her death to dare touch the Lich King's sword.

Sapphire just went close to it, and laid the skull on a pile of other skulls. "Hello, Frostmourne."

She felt much less vulnerable, and looked calmly for the usual guards. Falric and Marwyn were no where to be found. They were known to go off and play card games, or torment lesser undead. Sapphire grinned, and ran down the Hall.

She pulled her coat on as she ran, the fox fur tickling her neck as she pulled it closely. She made her way out the main doors of the Citadel, and went off to the Cathedral of Darkness. Her hood hid her face, despite the wind howling around her.

The Cathedral of Darkness was silent. People sat in rows in the main chamber, praying in their minds. Sapphire ignored most of them, going off to a dark alcove. A figure stood there in equally dark clothes.

"Prince Zyperias!" Sapphire whispered.

She saw his pale countenance, his glowing red eyes. Underneath the dark cloak was red, jewel encrusted robes. A hand with clawed fingers reached out for Sapphire, and she was pulled into an embrace.

"Ah, Sapphire my gem."

The blood elf took her into the darkness of the alcove, and sat down on a bench with her. He was a San'layn, which Marwyn always told Sapphire were foul creatures. They were vampiric in nature, feasting on the blood, flesh, and soul of their victims. But Sapphire wasn't a victim.

She had first seen Prince Zyperias when she had gotten lost in the Citadel, and ended up in the Crimson Halls. The other Darkfallen had wished to kill her, but Zyperias had realized she was the Lich King's daughter, and rescued her from his own kind. After that, Sapphire would spend time with Zyperias, before Marwyn found out. The deathknight had went straight to the Lich King and asked to have Zyperias forbidden from getting near Sapphire.

Sapphire's father had refused, and Marwyn instead ordered Sapphire never to go near the San'layn or the Crimson Halls again. She hadn't seen Zyperias for a long time, only rarely able to sneak away. But he had smuggled her a note to meet her in the Cathedral of Darkness that day.

"Marwyn keeps telling me not to go near you anymore," Sapphire said. Prince Zyperias sighed, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry, sweet blood. I will think of some way to show him the truth. I do not want your blood, or soul. I care deeply about you, Sapphire."

Sapphire stared at him lovingly. "I know that."

The San'layn pulled her into a hug.

* * *

Muhahahahahaha!


	5. Chapter 5

Sapphire came to find Marwyn leaning next to the Citadel's doors, carving lines into a skull with a knife. She stopped, and stared. He slowly raised his head, and clenched the hand that was holding the skull.

He stood up. Sapphire watched him take off his cloak. She restrained the urge to back away when Marwyn approached her.

She stared in shock when he wrapped his cloak around her.

"What have I told you about going outside? You need more layers on than that."

Sapphire recovered, and nodded. "Thanks, Marwyn."

He took her inside. Sapphire felt like she was getting away with murder, and her heart seemed heavy. Marwyn kept his arm around her comfortingly as he took her back inside.

The deathknight said nothing, which made Sapphire suspicious. Did he know about Zyperias continuing to see her? Marwyn was the kind of person that would confront her immediately if he knew. She was being a bit paranoid. Zyperias had not yet set up their next meeting, and she was already feeling heartsick after him.

Rot came running at her, barking happily. The dog twirled around happily as Sapphire reached down to pick him up.

Marwyn cleared his throat. "I would prefer you to tell me the next time you go out. I am planning on going out to hunt wolves in a couple of days, so please have Falric know about your whereabouts. I don't want you outside, frolicking like a bunny, when a blizzard hits. Then you would be a dead bunny."

Sapphire scowled. "Why am I am a bunny?"

"Because you are cute, fluffy, and easily killed," Marwyn said with a tone that implied it was obvious.

He walked off. Rot barked a goodbye at the deathknight. Sapphire stayed there for a while. She decided she should just wander the Citadel for a while. No need to return to her room.

Nothing was going on that looked interesting. Sindragosa wasn't even at her usual perch. The plagueworks were off limits for some reason, but Sapphire could not possibly sneak past the guards. And of course Marwyn would be outraged if she got close to the Crimson Halls. Sapphire just sat on a balcony outside, feeling the howling wind. After she got bored of dropping ice down to the ground below, Sapphire stood up and walked around.

As she went through one hall, She heard voices coming from one room. Curious, Sapphire peered in. Her father was there, surrounded by high-ranking undead. Sapphire saw a deathknight turn toward her. She yelped in fright, and fled. She ran straight to the Shadow throne.

Sapphire fled to her room. She closed the door, and sighed.

"Rot!"

The puppy did not reply. Sapphire frowned. He had been just behind her a second ago. Sapphire looked under the bed. He wasn't there. Sapphire looked in the clothes chest, behind some of her books, behind the desk, and everywhere. Rot wasn't in her room.

"Rot?" Sapphire slowly opened her door, and looked out. She went into the hallway.

There was a bark, and Sapphire turned to it. She gasped.

"Rot, no!"

She covered her mouth in horror. The dog had his head sticking out of the door to her father's bedchamber. Rot woofed again, and then his head went back in the room. Sapphire ran to the door, and then hesitated.

Sapphire had learned to stay away from her father. Whenever she saw him coming, she would run off back to her room.

And she never got close to her father's room. She had no idea what it looked like. He did not go into it that much, as far as Sapphire had observed. Sometimes Sapphire would stay up at night just to wait for him to enter his room. And she would get up early to watch him exit. She had only seen him do both three times. She didn't even know if her father even slept.

Rot barked within the room, and Sapphire opened the door.

The room was not as frightening as Sapphire thought. It was bare. There was a bed that looked unused. There was a book shelf near the side. And there was a locked door to the right. A saronite chandelier lit the room. Sapphire looked around for Rot.

There was a fresh pool of blood on the floor, with the look of a body being dragged away. Rot was standing in the middle of it, licking up the blood. He looked up, and woofed. Sapphire planted her hands on her hips.

"Really? You can in here for some blood? I could have gotten you a fresh rat. And who knows where that blood came from?"

Rot wagged his tail. He then laid down into the blood, and rolled over. His grey fur turned red, and sticky. Sapphire gave him a look of disgust.

"Rot! Why would you-"

The sound of heavy footsteps in the corridor outside made Sapphire freeze. She bit back a yelp. She looked around, and saw a desk. She quickly hid under it. Rot followed her, climbing into her lap. Her clothes got wet from the blood, but she ignored it.

He must see that the door was open, Sapphire thought. He could have just forgotten to close it. She heard him walk in. Quietly, Sapphire backed further under the desk.

Sapphire felt Rot's tongue on her cheek, and she looked at the floor. Her eyes widened. Bloody paw prints led straight to the desk. Sapphire felt the room grow colder and colder. The girl saw her father's legs as he walked past the desk. Sapphire squeezed Rot tightly. The dog was smart enough not to make a noise.

Her father did not seem to notice. To Sapphire's surprise. Her heart was beating as hard as possible. It was almost painful.

The door to the right opened, then closed. Sapphire did not hear anything. Maybe that door led to another room, and that's where her father went? Sapphire slowly crawled out from under the desk. A hand grabbed her roughly.

Rot barked in alarm. Sapphire struggled, but stopped when her father pulled her to her feet. He stared at her.

"Get. Out."

Sapphire nodded, and picked up bloody Rot. The dog whimpered as Sapphire quickly fled the room.


	6. Chapter 6

As Sapphire slept, Rot was scratching at the door. He hopped up and down, trying to get at the doorknob. Rot couldn't reach it. He huffed, and looked around. He found a couple of books, and dragged them to the door.

He jumped on top of them, and batted at the doorknob. He spun it, and the door opened slightly. Rot woofed, then jumped. Sapphire moaned in her sleep, and pulled the covers over her head.

Rot watched her silently, then squeezed through the door. He wagged his tail, and trotted off. He went straight to the Lich King's room. He scratched at the door. It opened, and Rot slipped inside. He went over to the desk, and sat down. He looked up at the Lich King.

He barked. The Lich King turned to face him. Rot wagged his tail. He whined, growled, and barked. The Lich King stared at the tiny dog impassively.

"So...My daughter went to the Cathedral of Darkness today. Interesting. Here is your reward."

Rot's eyes widened as the Lich King dropped a large bone in front of him, still covered mostly with meat. Green drool dripped from Rot's mouth, and the dog grabbed at the bone with his teeth. It was bigger than he was, and it seemed to take forever to leave the room. Rot looked back at the Lich King, but saw no indication that Rot should stay and tell him anything else. Rot snorted, and dragged the bone. He wondered where he should hide it. Unfortunately, the hard metal of Rot's home wasn't good for digging. And ghouls always found his bones hidden outside in the snow.

Rot took it back into Sapphire's room, and pushed the bone underneath her clean clothes, then hopped on top of them. He twirled around for a second, and then laid down. He yawned, acting as if nothing had happened.

* * *

Sapphire giggled.

Tiny frostwyrm whelps scrabbled around her feet. Sapphire held out a strip of meat. The undead dragons chirped eagerly. One hugged Sapphire's leg. Another fluttered up on its wings and tried to grab it.

Sapphire kept it away from that one, and threw it to a random one.

Larger Frostwryms were around Sapphire, but they weren't interested in her. They were flying in and out, going off to kill stuff and cause destruction. Sapphire had never gotten farther than the wall that separated the Citadel, the Court of Bones, and the Cathedral of Darkness from the rest of Icecrown. Sapphire watched as one dragon flew over the spiked top of Corp'rethar.

One of the young undead whelps scratched at Sapphire's fur boots. He chewed on it. Sapphire pulled her foot away.

"No! Bad!"

He looked at her with large glowing eyes, then laid his head on the floor. He whined pitifully. Sapphire held out another piece of meat. The undead dragon snatched it from her hand. Sapphire gasped, and all of the dragon whelps attacked her. They knocked her to the ground, and walked all over her. Wings smacked her. Sapphire tried to push them off, but they were all too strong for her. One laid down on her chest, and gave her a cute look.

"In over your head?"

Sapphire looked up, and saw a grinning night elf deathknight. His skin was a deep purple, and his hair a brilliant green.

"Hello, Lethumo. How is your day going?" She asked, ignoring the dragons as they calmed down. They laid on top of her like a pile of snow.

The night elf sat down next to the encumbered girl. He placed his runeblade on his lap. Lethumo was one of Sapphire's friends. He was always making confusing jokes that only male deathknight's found amusing. Sapphire liked him. He seemed nice.

"Dismal. I have guard duty. It's as boring and vile as an elderly prostitute."

Sapphire turned her head, her hair spilling out on the saronite floor. A frostwrym landed nearby. It looked at the girl curiously, probably wondering why she would let all of the dragon whelps lay on her like that. It strode off into the inside of the Citadel, away from the harsh winds.

"You have never explained what a prostitute is, you know."

Lethumo scratched his beard, and leaned over. "Yeah. What are you...fifteen? Sixteen? Old enough to know I suppose. Prostitutes are women, usually, that exchange sex for money."

"Sex? Money?" Sapphire was utterly confused. Lethumo sighed. He rubbed his face with one hand.

"I doubt the Master would want me to discuss such things with you."

Sapphire tried to push one undead whelp off of her. The dragon just dug her claws into Sapphire's clothes and purred. Sapphire gave up.

"Why would he care? What's sex?"

Lethumo slowly explained it to her, in explicate details. He seemed a bit gleeful to do it. Sapphire was overcome with horror.

"Ugh! Why would anyone do that! That sounds disgusting."

Lethumo snorted, and waved at that comment dismissively.

"That's because you have never done it. It is quite fun. That's why people give women money to have sex with them."

That got Sapphire confused. Sapphire was slowly able to sit up. No less than ten dragon whelps were laying on Sapphire's legs. One started snoring, hugging Sappphire's boot. Its tail flicked occasionally.

She turned to Lethumo and asked, "What's money?"

Lethumo exasperately told her the basics of it. Sapphire found that a bit boring. She was more interested in the sex thing.

"Why do people do sex for money though? Is it just because it is fun?"

The night elf grabbed a dagger from his belt, and pretended to slash his throat. He groaned.

"I shouldn't have said anything. Clearly you are still a child. You know about death, but that's it. You know nothing of reality."

Sapphire suddenly pushed all of the whelps off her, and then stood up. She scowled and planted her hands on her hips. Lethumo grinned. Sapphire was about to say something insulting to him, but then she gasped. Lethumo turned to where she was looking.

Captain Falric was glaring at them. He strode forward, and grabbed Sapphire by the neck.

"What are you doing?"

"I...I was feeding the baby undead dragons."

Falric growled, and let go of her neck only to grab her arm. He pulled her away abruptly. He looked back to Lethumo.

"Don't you have something to do, elf?"

Lethumo said something, but Sapphire didn't catch it. She tried to look back, but Falric smacked her hard. Sapphire was stunned. Falric was mean, but never this much. What had happened?


	7. Chapter 7

Falric took Sapphire down to the dungeons. He took her past cells with prisoners and slaves. The doors with barred windows had hands reaching out. There was sobbing, begging and cursing by all of them.

Sapphire was shoved into a bare room. She gasped as she fell to the hard floor. She scrabbled to her feet. Falric slammed the door behind him. Saphpire held up one hand.

"Uncle Falric! Remember what Marwyn said. Violence isn't the-"

"Shut up. Marwyn isn't here," The deathknight growled. Sapphire backed into the corner, frightened. Falric didn't look happy.

"Marwyn has let you do whatever you want. When you disobey, he just gives you a warning. Not anymore. Marwyn will only be gone for a week, but I will do my best to fix what he has wrought."

Sapphire looked at her uncle in shock. What did he mean by that? Falric circled the room, eying it critically. Chains hung from the ceiling. Swathes of dried blood covered both the floor and even the walls. There was a grate in the middle of the room, and the floor was slightly slanted toward it. The most of the blood patches were around it, as if it had run down to go down the drain. Cockroaches ran past Falric's boot and one stopped. The deathknight lifted his foot, and stepped on the bug. It crunched.

"Yes. I think this will do. This is your temporary room from now on."

Sapphire gasped. "What? I can't live in here!"

"Sure you can. And you will. Unless of course you want to fight me?" Falric said smugly.

He opened the door, and stood in front of it.

"Come on. If you really want to be free, fight me for it."

Sapphire knew it was impossible to win against Falric. He was a deathknight, a powerful undead. She couldn't even push a frostwyrm whelp off of her. How could she possibly fight Falric? She lowered her head, and sat down. Falric snorted in derision.

"Good. Already you are learning."

Falric walked out, and slammed the door. Sapphire heard the sound of keys and the door being locked. Sapphire, still in shock, went over to the door. She tried to open it. It was indeed locked.

Sapphire looked at the room. She hoped Marwyn would decide to come back sooner. And Zyperias. He would not stand by this cruelty.

* * *

Falric kicked Sapphire in the side. The girl didn't respond. Falric cursed at her, but Sapphire was in too much pain.

She had only been in the room for two days. Falric came in occasionally, and would hurt her. Nothing permanent. Sapphire had first asked what was happening, but Falric had grabbed her and punched her hard in the face. He had told her not to speak when spoken too.

He beat her for a long time. He would ask her a question, and Sapphire would weakly reply. She had never been in such pain before. Falric did not relent. Bruises covered her body. There were gashes in her skin, where the metal on Falric's glove sliced her up. Her blood joined the rest of the blood that went down the drain.

Whenever Falric had left her, the solitude of the room terrified her. The first night, Sapphire had killed all of the cockroaches. She had been disgusted by their presence. But now, she wished she hadn't. Anything to give her company. She heard the screams, moans, and begging of the other prisoners constantly. Sapphire usually never found the noises unnerving. But she had never before been in the same position as them. They had seem like animals to her. Not...people. She had been taught that life was a curse. Humans, orcs, elves, and the lot were vicious creatures that killed each other. Her father was taking those that died and giving them a purpose. Sapphire didn't know what that purpose was, but every time she asked, the teachers would say she would learn when she died. Sapphire figured that was a valid answer.

As she heard screamed, Sapphire remembered all of the tortures she had witnessed. Sapphire had thought of sharp knifes, hot irons, and other torture devices. She knew the theory on how to use most of the torture devices, even though she had never used them. She had never been allowed to. She was only permitted to watch, when Marwyn didn't know.

As Falric tried to rouse her, Sapphire whimpered. Pain radiated everywhere. Falric had not been picky where he hurt her. Her legs throbbed where he had kicked them. Her chest hurt with every breath she made.

"Get up, brat. If you don't stand in less than a minute, I will have to do even worse things to you. And I know lots of things to make a woman scream," Falric snarled.

Sapphire had no idea what he meant, but the sadistic tone in his voice told Sapphire she needed to get up quickly. Sapphire pushed herself up into a sitting position. She saw that her skin was purple and black. She couldn't see any patch of normal skin. Every bruise protested. Sapphire whined pitifully.

"Oh, be quiet. I was being gentle."

Sapphire would hate to see what he did when he wasn't gentle.

Falric grabbed Sapphire by the neck, and scowled.

"I'm going to turn you into a killer."

Sapphire raised her head, a questioning look on her face. "Why?"

A fist collided with her face. Sapphire cried out in pain, and tried to hide her face. Falric grabbed her chin roughly. He did not berate her on talking without permission, but Sapphire felt chastised.

"Because. You are much too sensitive to learn on your own. I am going to have to make you into one."

The deathknight let go of her, and Sapphire stumbled. Falric strode off to the door, and opened it. He leaned down to pick something up. When he straightened, Sapphire saw that he was holding a cage full of rats.

"I see you killed all of the cockroaches. You can move onto something bigger. These are all starving rats."

Sapphire looked at them with sadness. She liked animals, especially furry ones. Falric opened the cage, and dumped them all on the floor. They tumbled to the floor, and got to their feet. They scrambled around, sniffing and scratching the entire room. Falric turned to Sapphire.

"Kill them all before you go to sleep. Or you might find yourself a bit chewed on tomorrow."

Sapphire whimpered. "How do I kill them?"

Falric reached on his belt, and tossed her a rock. Sapphire had been expecting a knife or something.

"You might need to hold them down a bit. But the feeling of a creature wriggling in your grasp is exhilarating. See you tomorrow."

Sapphire gulped, and suddenly realized she hadn't had anything to eat or drink all day. Falric had given her bread and water twice yesterday, but nothing today.

"Wait...Are you going to give me any food or water today?"

Falric looked around at the rats. He gestured to all of them. "Dinner is served."

He left laughing at Sapphire's look of horror and revulsion. One rat sniffed at one of Sapphire's boots. She screamed in alarm and ran to the door. She beat her hands on the door. The pain was almost unbearable.

"No! Please Uncle Falric! Come back!"

Sapphire fell to the floor, and started to sob. She wondered if Zyperias knew where she was. Maybe he would rescue her.


	8. Chapter 8

Sapphire tried to grab one of the rats, but it bit her viciously. The girl cried out in pain. Blood flowed out of the bite, dripping on the floor. Sapphire pressed it against her shirt. She whimpered, and waited for the blood flow to stop.

She had been awake all night. Her throat was getting drier and drier by the minute. Her stomach was now roaring with hunger, and it hurt worse than Falric hitting her. The rats had all tried to investigate her, to see if she was food, but Sapphire had desperately kicked them away. She couldn't sleep.

Finally, Sapphire was trying to kill the rats. She didn't want to. But maybe if she showed Falric she could do it, he'd be less cruel. Maybe feed her. Or give her water. She needed water.

After her wound stopped bleeding, Sapphire tried again. She grabbed a rat, but this time, she grabbed it by the neck. The rat squealed, but couldn't bite her. It writhed in her grip. Sapphire was disgusted. She hit it in the head with the rock, as hard as she could. Blood spurted out, and the rat started making a horrible noise. It was still making a horrible noise. Sapphire hit it again. There was a nasty crunching sound, and the rat's struggles slowly stopped.

Sapphire let go of it. Its skull was opened up, and there was bits of brain and blood on the rock. Sapphire looked away, shaking. After the first rat, it soon became easier to kill the rest. But Sapphire was disgusted with herself, and cried herself to sleep.

When Falric found her, he kicked her awake as he had done before.

"Get up. I see you aren't that hungry."

Sapphire looked up. She glared at him.

"Go away."

He kicked her again, in the sensitive stomach. Sapphire clenched her fists in anger. Can't he see she was in agony?

"Get. Up. Now!"

Sapphire lunged at Falric, but he saw it coming. He grabbed one of Sapphire's wrist, and twisted it painfully. She cried out. He hit Sapphire in the face, causing her to hit the floor. She curled up in a ball. Falric hit her in the back. Then, he picked her up and put her in a sitting position.

"Look at me. I tell you to do something, you do something. Got it?"

Sapphire shook her head. He stood up and raised his hand to strike her again. Just as he was about to hit her, his hand froze. Falric growled. Sapphire looked up in fear. The deathknight turned away from her.

"Fine. I'll leave her alone for now," He muttered.

Without another word, he left with a slam of the door. Sapphire looked at the door in utter shock. What had made Falric leave so abruptly? Had Zyperias learned of this, and stopped it? She had been expecting another vicious day of beatings.

Even more shocking, was when the door opened again so soon afterwards. An undead came in, holding a tray. It set it down, and left just as quickly. Sapphire crawled over to the tray. On it was a mug of water, meat, a bowl of soup, and bread. Sapphire had to force herself not to wolf it all down. The soup was fresh and hot. She drank some of it, and left it. She only drank half of the water. The bread was hard, but Sapphire dipped it into the remainder of the soup to soften it. She ate all of the bread. The meat she kept in reserve. It was dried meat, so it would keep. She might need it. Sapphire put both the mug and the meat in the corner of the room.

Afterwards, stomach full of bread and soup, Sapphire felt a little better. She pushed away all of the dead cockroaches and rats to near the door. Sapphire heard a particularly loud scream. She sighed, and laid down.

* * *

It was a day until Falric came back. Sapphire's bruises didn't hurt as badly, but she still felt a bit sore. She had been fed again, and again she kept some water and a bit of softer bread as reserve. She didn't expect this relief to last. The best part had been when the door opened, and Rot ran inside. He had attacked Sapphire furiously with his tongue. She in turn hugged and kissed him. She didn't care to wonder why they let her have Rot, her sweet little puppy. She was just happy to see him. She let him eat the dead rats, which he did gladly.

When Falric finally stomped in, Sapphire was laying down, resting. She had Rot on her chest, talking to him sweetly.

"Get up!" He barked angrily, but did not kick Sapphire. She actually got up rather quickly, to Falric's annoyance. Rot stood at her feet, wagging his tail. Falric grabbed her arm roughly but not too harshly. He took her out of the room. The plague puppy barked in alarm and followed. Sapphire hoped the deathknight wasn't going to kill her. She was not ready to die.

They went back through the dungeon, Rot at their heels. Sapphire wanted to get away from the prisoners as fast as possible, but obviously that was no the plan. Sapphire was taken to down farther into the dungeon. Even she wasn't allowed to go this far down. The guards had always refused to let her pass.

After walking a ways, Sapphire bit her lip.

"Uncle Falric? Has Prince Zyperias asked about me any?" She asked hopefully. The deathknight snorted in amusement.

"Zyperias? Hmm...Oh, yes. Him. Last time I saw him, he was in the arms of Queen Lana'thel."

Sapphire yanked her arm away from Falric, who had been caught off guard. Sapphire whimpered. Rot growled angrily at her feet.

"What do you mean?"

"You think that that elf loved you? He hasn't given you another thought after your blood and soul was declared off limits by your father?"

Sapphire's pain was mixed with confusion. Zyperias...didn't want her? There was a slight pain in her chest. And why would her father be interested in what happens to her? But...Why would Zyperias want to hurt her? He loved her. Sapphire was so flummoxed. But Falric gave her no time to think on his words. The deathknight grabbed her and led her down a large tunnel, which opened up to light. Sapphire stepped out, and gaped.

In front of her was a large icy pit. Saronite was exposed in large ore deposits everywhere. Sapphire knew saronite was very important to the Scourge. It is a very strong metal, but lighter than most other metals. All of Icecrown Citadel was made of saronite, as was most structures the Scourge made. It was called the "Black Blood of Yogg-Saron." Sapphire remembered a history lesson about Yogg-Saron being an Old God or something.

Rot ran around joyfully, tumbling in the snow and slipping on the ice. He looked at Sapphire happily. His mouth was open in a smile, tongue hanging out.

A frostwrym was gliding over the other side of the area. Wind blew into Sapphire's face. Falric pushed Sapphire forward and Sapphire walked forward. Undead were wandering around. There was a monumental skull carving in the middle of the rocky hole. A glowing blue orb was set it in. Sapphire knew that her father and powerful undead could look through to watch what was going on. Living people were mining the large saronite ores. They were all of races, and were men and women. They had broken looks, tears frozen on their faces and eyes full of despair. Filth covered their bodies, and they only were thin rags as clothing. Some were missing fingers and toes, most likely from frostbite. Sapphire had gotten it once in her toes. Marwyn had known at once what was wrong, and was able to prevent her from losing them.

Sapphire looked around the hole. It had straight line walls, and saronite ore. Suddenly, Sapphire knew what this place was. It was the Pit of Saron, a large mine where slaves dug out the saronite the Scourge needed. Sapphire gasped, and refused to get any farther in the pit. Rot stopped wagging his tail, and looked at her oddly. Falric just turned around, and picked her up, flinging her over one shoulder.

"Are you going to make me mine saronite! Please no! I don't know how to mine anything!"

"You'll see what is planned for you."


	9. Chapter 9

Sapphire froze in fear. There, on a rise overlooking the pit, was her father. She looked at Falric with a terrified look.

"Is he going to kill me?"

The deathknight glared at her, and didn't answer. He prodded her harshly, pushing her her toward the the Lich King. Sapphire whimpered. She approached her father, very wary. He did not turn to look at her. Sapphire thought that was easier. She didn't have to be scrutinized by him. It was extremely unnerving to stand so close to her father.

They stood in silence. Rot went over to Arthas's feet. To Sapphire's horror, the puppy started licking the fur on the boots. He was wagging his tail happily.

Arthas turned to Sapphire. Rot jumped several yards back, and hid behind a rock. Sapphire's father didn't seem to have noticed.

"Falric thought force and deprivation would work on you. I don't think it did. That's why I stopped him. Do you think it was starting to work? "

Sapphire shook her head. She watched him curiously. Why had he stopped Falric? Zyperias didn't try to stop him? Sapphire felt hurt inside, that her cruel powerful father helped her, but not her boyfriend. And now, her father had asked her a question. She was expecting a painful death. Not...talking. Her father gestured to the Pit of Saron.

"What do you see?"

Sapphire looked around. She saw people of all races mining saronite. They slaved away under the supervision from deathknights. They carried whips. As she watched, one woman collapse from fatique, and one deathknight strode over to her. He whipped her brutally. Sapphire winced. As the deathknight left, he ran his hand along the whip, and flicked away the blood. Sapphire bit her lip.

"I see pain?"

"Is that an answer or a question?"

"Uh...An answer?" Sapphire asked. She lowered her head submissively, hoping what she said was right.

Before she could, her father turned away and walked off. Sapphire watched, utterly confused. There was a moment of panic. Was she supposed to follow him? Wracked with indecision, she just stood there. She felt like she had done something wrong.

To her shock, Lethumo came running up to her. He grabbed her by her shoulders.

"Where have you been? Damn it...what happened to your face?"

Sapphire touched her cheek and it hurt. She must have lots of bruises from Falric's beatings.

"Falric beat me."

The night elf stared at her. "Come again? He beat you?"

Sapphire nodded. Lethumo seemed like he wanted to say something else, but didn't. He just examined the bruises on her face. When he touched one, Sapphire winced. The night elf just sighed.

"I'll ask why later. Right now I should take you to your room."

The night elf took her by the arm. Sapphire let him lead her away. She was confused, hungry, and exhausted. Rot trotted behind them. Before Lethumo could get Sapphire away from the Pit of Saron, there was a surprise visitor.

Zyperias was there, walking toward them. He looked relieved to see Sapphire, but she wasn't happy to see him. She cowered behind Lethumo. Zyperias had not even tried to see her, or stop Falric. Sapphire whimpered. Lethumo looked back at her, and unsheathed his sword. He held it up.

"That's close enough, San'layn."

Zyperias looked at Lethumo passively. "Forgive me, night elf. I just wish to comfort my beautiful-"

"Shut up, you motherfucker. She clearly doesn't want comfort from you. Either leave, or I'll rip your head from your shoulders."

The San'layn narrowed his eyes, but did not get any closer. He turned and left without a word. Lethumo glared at him angrily. Afterward, he put up the sword and wrapped his arm around Sapphire's shoulder comfortingly.

"Relax...I'll keep that leech away from you."

Lethumo took her to her room, and laid her down on the bed. He examined her bruises more, and then left. Rot just watched Sapphire curiously. She was curled up in bed, and wincing in pain as she touched her bruised. The night elf came back with a box of stuff. Sapphire watched him as he took out stuff.

"Here, drink this potion. Drink all of it...There you go. Lay down."

He took out a covered bowl of soup from the box, and gave it to Sapphire. She drank it without a spoon. Then, Lethumo pulled out a long necked bottle full of dark liquid.

"What's that?" Sapphire asked.

"Wine. World's best medicine. Here, drink this cup. Slowly."

Sapphire took the offered cup. She sniffed it. It didn't smell that nice. She sipped it, and wrinkled her nose in disgust. Lethumo had starting drinking from the bottle, and belched. He looked over to her.

"Ooh, that's good stuff...Hey, why aren't you drinking?"

Sapphire put the cup on the floor. "It tastes bad."

Lethumo picked it back up and pushed it into her hands. Sapphire frowned.

"Drink it! It will make you feel much better."

Sapphire forced herself to drink the vile-tasting drink. Only when she finished the cup did Lethumo seem satisfied. He stroked her hair.

"Good girl. Wine is an acquired taste anyway. You'll grow to love it. Right now it will help you sleep, and take away some of the pain. I'll tuck you in and guard over you if you want."

Sapphire nodded weakly, and laid down in her bed. Rot climbed up, and licked Sapphire in the face. He curled up next to her, and instantly fell asleep. Lethumo put her blanket over her, and tucked it in. He had brought another blanket, and covered her with that as well. He pulled over the chair, and sat down on it.

"Now, go to sleep. Tomorrow I'm going to kick Falric in the nuts."

Sapphire raised her head. "Nuts?"

"Honey, I am going to try not to spoil your innocence anymore than I already have."

The girl frowned, but didn't question it. She just laid her head back down, and yawned. She was pretty tired. Falric hadn't let her sleep that much, and there had been no bed in the prison cell. Her bed felt like a hill of snow at the moment. Soft and comfortable, but much warmer than snow. Lethumo watched over her, drinking heavily from the wine bottle.

"Lethumo, you called Zyperias a motherfucker. What's that?"

The deathknight groaned, and drank some more.

* * *

Sapphire woke up suddenly with fear. She sat up, and noticed Lethumo was gone. Rot was laying on his back, whining. His legs were moving back and forth, like he was running. Sapphire pushed her blankets away. She kissed Rot on the nose, and left him. She went out of her room.

The private chambers of the Lich King was always empty of undead. Few members of the Scourge were allowed this far into the Citadel, and those that did were high-ranked. Sapphire and Rot were the only exceptions. They were ranked lower than ghouls probably.

Sapphire walked through the empty hallway to the hidden entrance. She went past the Shadow Throne. As she went to the more populated parts of the Citadel, there was no undead. Sapphire looked everywhere. Most undead were gone. Only a few ghouls were in sight, Deathknights were no where to be found, and there were only a handful of cultists talking to themselves.

Sapphire suddenly got worried. Where was all the undead? When she asked one undead, he said something about Angrathar the Wrathgate. Sapphire was an expert on the various parts of the Citadel since all she could do during the day was explore. But she had never heard of this Wrathgate. With some coaxing and promises of food, Sapphire was able to convince the undead to take her to the Wrathgate.


	10. Chapter 10

Sapphire had come just outside the gates, extremely curious. But that had proven to be disastrous. As soon as she stepped outside, the gate, like large teeth, closed shut with a boom. Sapphire realized her action might turn deadly. She looked around and found a small boulder. She hid behind it, panicking. Rot ran after her, feet scrambling over the rocks. Nothing came to rip her throat out though, so she dared a quick look. Out beyond her boulder, where Sapphire had never even set foot before, was a massive horde of the living.

Never had she seen so many. They looked endless. All that Sapphire had seen of outsiders were those in the dungeons, and they never looked that impressive. The ones that her father strode out to were terrifying. She saw some of every race, which confused her. She had learned about the Horde and the Alliance, petty factions when compared to the united might of the Scourge. And she knew that the Horde and Alliance always fought with each other. They didn't join together like this, she thought.

It scared her. She thought that Icecrown Citadel was the safest place in the world, yet here was a bunch of mortals at the very back gate of it. Sapphire did not really know much about what goes on in Northrend, but that was discouraging. She had only ever seen a map of Northrend, but the Horde and Alliance didn't live in Northrend. And it was a large island. How did they get to Northrend? By swimming?

Her father stood alone in front of all of the living. Sapphire whimpered a bit, wondering what was going to happen. She heard her father's chilling voice.

"You speak of justice, of cowardice? I will show you the justice of the grave... and the true meaning of fear."

Sapphire watched as dozens of undead, some bursting out of the frozen ground, some raising up from bodies around the living. She watched in awe. Her father hadn't even done a spell or anything. The undead just rose up. They didn't immediately attack.

An orc shouted. "Enough talk. Let it be finished!"

Sapphire gasped as the orc charged at the Lich King, but her father just swung Frostmourne at the orc's axe. The axe shattered, and Sapphire saw the orc fall. A human stood in front of the Lich King, and he yelled defiantly.

"You will pay for all the lives you've stolen, traitor!"

"Boldly stated, but there is nothing you can-"

Sapphire jumped when there was an explosion. She rose her head up and saw a green cloud. Laughter rang out. Sapphire looked up, but there was a bright light in the sky, blinding her. Sapphire was used to darkness, and she rubbed her pained eyes.

"Did you think we had forgotten? Did you think we had forgiven? Behold, now, the terrible vengeance of the Forsaken!"

Suddenly, there were explosions everywhere. Sapphire screamed, cowering. Someone grabbed her shoulder. She whipped her head around in alarm. Marwyn stood there.

"What are you doing here!" He demanded. Sapphire opened her mouth to speak, but the deathknight looked up and cursed. He grabbed Sapphire's arm, and yanked her to her feet.

"Come on!" He snarled. Sapphire looked back. There were clouds of green gas of some kind. Her father was in the middle of it, coughing and hacking. Before Sapphire could tell Marwyn, her father roared in fury and stood up. He turned to the gate, which had opened, and limped toward it. Marwyn forcefully pulled Sapphire into the safety of the Citadel, Rot at her heels whining in terror.

The Lich King followed slowly, snarled. "This isn't over!"

The gate closed off, preventing any of the gas from coming in. Marwyn grabbed Sapphire's shoulders roughly. Rot barked in alarm at his action.

"What were you doing? You could have been killed!" The deathknight snapped.

"I...I don't-"

Marwyn didn't wait for an explanation. He pulled Sapphire into a hug, squeezing her against his armor. She gasped as he crushed her chest.

"Uncle Mar! Can't breathe!" She gasped.

The deathknight let her go and held her at arms length.

"...What happened to you?" He said, a look of surprise on his face. Sapphire looked down, and saw the bruises covering her skin.

"Well, Falric-"

"Falric!" Marwyn growled. The deathknight left Sapphire as quickly as he had shown up, running. Sapphire looked around. Rot had disappeared again, but she found him quickly. The puppy was over at the Lich King. He had collapsed to his knees as soon as the gates had closed, and was coughing from the gas. Sapphire wanted to help him, but she had no idea how. He seemed to have trouble breathing, so why didn't he take off his helm?

Sapphire approached him, and reached out. She hesitated for a second, but then grabbed the Helm and ripped it off her father's head. She saw white hair, but she didn't bother to look at him longer than necessary. She put the Helm down, and snatched up Rot before running away as fast as possible.

She ran as fast as she could, until she got to her room. She slammed her door shut, and crawled under the bed, trembling.

For a while, Sapphire heard nothing. But eventually there were voices and footsteps outside. The voices sounded like they belonged to cultists. Sapphire left her bed, and cracked open her door. She saw her father surrounded by cultists. He went to his bedroom, the cultists following. After a while, the cultists left. Sapphire closed her door, and looked around her room. She went over to a small shelf. On it were potions. Nicci had taught her how to make potions of all kinds. Sapphire picked up a bottle of yellow liquid, and left her room. A couple of deathknights stood at either side of the door. She approached them.

"I need to enter," She said. The deathknight's looked at each other. One opened the door for her. Rot barked at him before following Sapphire.

The room looked the same as before, only this time the bed was being used. Sapphire took a deep breath, and slowly went over to the bed. She clutched the potion tightly. She did not look at her father and just went over to the table next to the bed. She placed the potion on it, and quickly fled the room.

She ran into Zyperias. The San'layn smiled, and took her arm.

"Sapphire! My dear, what are you doing?"

Sapphire tried to free herself from Zyperias , but he had a firm grip on her arm. He pulled her to him, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I heard about what Falric did to you, and I am sorry about that. Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Sapphire said nervously.

"Is something wrong? You look a bit shaken up. How about a nice dinner?"

Sapphire shook her head. "No, I'm fine-"

"I insist. Come with me."


	11. Chapter 11

Zyperias took Sapphire through Icecrown, no doubt taking her eventually to the Crimson Halls. There was a chill in the air that Sapphire had never felt before. It felt like the entire Citadel was seething anger at the assault on its master. There was also silence, the only noises being their feet on the saronite floor.

"You know, I really didn't know what Falric had done to you. I would have killed him if I had known," Zyperias said venomously.

"He said you didn't care about me," Sapphire said.

The San'layn stopped. He let go of Sapphire, a hurt look in his eyes.

"And you believed him? When has he ever given you cause for trust? And I? What have I done wrong?" His voice was full of sadness, and it tore at Sapphire. Falric had always treated her cruelly, ever since she had arrived in Icecrown. Marwyn had tried to convince his friend to treat Sapphire with respect, but Falric always sneered at Marwyn, and called him weak.

"I guess that was stupid to do," Sapphire admitted.

Zyperias laughed. He noticed Rot sniffing his robes, and picked up the dog. He stroked Rot's bony back, the puppy grunting in satisfaction.

"Not stupid, sweet blood. Just deceived. I had thought Marwyn had taken you with him on his hunting trip."

Sapphire shook her head. "No. Marwyn never takes me outside."

"That's a shame. Next time I leave, I shall take you with me."

Rot squirmed in the San'layn's arms. The dog flailed his front paws, and craned his neck back, trying to lick Zyperias's face. The elf pulled the dog away from his face. Sapphire relieved the San'layn of Rot, and put Rot on the floor. The puppy twirled around, barking. As Sapphire looked back up, Zyperias had lowered the mask from his face, and he leaned forward.

Zyperias kissed Sapphire. She recoiled back in surprise, but he put one hand around her waist. His grip wasn't forceful, or even painful. Sharp talons gently caressed her cheek. A strange warmth rose up within Sapphire, and she kissed him back. When Rot barked, it sounded like a thousand miles away. Zyperias's lips were colder than ice. Sapphire reached up, wrapping her arms around Zyperias's neck.

"Get away from my daughter."

Sapphire pushed away from Zyperias in terror. She had expected her father to be standing there, ready to kill her. Instead, there was Marwyn. The deathknight looked furious, with blood on his armor. His naked runeblade glowed, more blood running down its length.

Zyperias did not seem that concerned at all. He had an air of confidence, smiling at Marwyn.

"Dear Captain Marwyn. What a pleasure to see you, but I'm afraid I am stunned by that blasphemy you just spoke."

The deathknight had a dangerous look in his eye. Sapphire had never seen him so angry. "That wasn't blasphemy. She's more like my daughter than my charge. Now, get away from her or I'll tear your spine out."

"Care to give me a reason to leave my dark angel? I have not shown any malice toward her, nor will I ever."

Marwyn snarled. "You are a San'layn. You revel in torment and manipulation. I won't let you defile Sapphire."

That caused Zyperias to laugh harshly. "Defile? She's my Master's flesh and blood. Her body and soul belong to _Him_. At least I have not forgotten that."

Sapphire quickly got between the two of them, looking at Marwyn pleadingly. "Please don't fight! Marwyn, Zyperias would never hurt me!"

"Yes he would. You're too naive to see it. The Master charged me with taking care of you and raising you."

"And you've failed at that," A cold voice echoed behind him. Marwyn's body tensed, and he turned around. Zyperias went over to Sapphire, wrapping one arm around her protectively.

The Lich King was leaning against the wall, still clearly in pain. His helm was off, and Sapphire saw his face for the first time. She had been too scared to look before, but he was as terrifying as she imagined. Sapphire already knew that his hair was white, and as long as hers. His skin was grey like Marwyn's, and his mouth was twisted up in a sneer. His eyes were the same glowing blue, but there were dark shadows underneath them, like when Sapphire didn't get enough sleep.

Her father stood up straight, despite the pain. Behind him, Falric was glaring at Marwyn.

"So...This is a surprise, Marwyn. I give you the duty of raising my child, and not only do you fail to teach her anything, but you have the arrogance to believe she's yours."

Marwyn bowed his head. There was a metallic clang as his runeblade fell from his limp hand and landed on the saronite floor.

"I could not do it. She doesn't belong in the Scourge. Many times, I have thought about just killing her to spare her innocence."

"You are weak. You followed your dead heart, and have found that it still bleeds. Falric at least tried to help you. He thought he might be able to fix her quickly. But by doing that, it drew my attention and I finally realized how weak you had become. Falric, take him away."

Falric grabbed Marwyn's neck, and with a grin, said something. Marwyn bared his teeth, and hissed a response. With that, he was taken down the hall, Falric laughing. Sapphire would have defended Marwyn, begging her father to give him a second chance. But Zyperias guessed her intention, and dug his claws into her arm.

The Lich King hadn't forgotten her, and turned his full might onto Sapphire. She quailed.

"What is this, child?"

He then held up the potion she had placed in his room. Sapphire swallowed, trembling.

"The...The green gas was plague, wasn't it? I thought that might help you."

"Do you mean to tell me that you have made a cure for the plague?"

Sapphire nodded, expecting to have her skull crushed, or her throat slit. But the Lich King did neither, instead being dangerously calm about it.

"Does anyone else know about this?"

Quickly, Sapphire shook her head. She hadn't told anyone, for fear of punishment. She'd been testing the cure on rats for the most part, and hadn't even thought it would work. The first few times, the rats had bled internally and writhed in agony before dying anyway. Then one batch had acted like they had never been infected in the first place. She had not been making the cure because she hated the plague. Instead, She just wanted to see if it could be done.

The Lich King crushed the vial in his hand. Sapphire watched as the liquid dripped from his gloved fist and onto the floor. Rot trotted forward, and started lapping it up.

"Never make it again. Unless you wish to admit that you are a traitor just like your 'father'?" He snarled.

Sapphire shook her head. It was a good thing that Marwyn was out of earshot, for it would have hurt him to hear what Sapphire said next.

"He's not my father. I call him my uncle, but he's not even that. And I'd never betray you."

That had an immediate effect on the Lich King. He gave her a strange look, then looked at Zyperias. The San'layn inclined his head.

"Yes, Master."

To Sapphire's horror, Zyperias walked away, leaving her alone with her father. Zyperias's first loyalty was to her father, but it still hurt. And it seemed that she was going to experience worse pain. Sapphire hoped for a quick death. She knew enough about torture, and although she enjoyed watching it, it was not something she wanted to experience herself.


	12. Chapter 12

At first, Sapphire was expecting death. But her father did nothing like that. He watched her silently. Rot wagged his tail, looking up at the Lich King. The dog seemed unconcerned with Sapphire's terror.

"Do you know why I haven't killed you before now?" Her father asked.

Sapphire shook her head.

"Until now, I thought Marwyn had you under control. I rarely ever encountered you, which I took that meant you were being an obedient servant. Now, I know you have been avoiding me on purpose. Why is that?" He growled.

"Because Marwyn said you would kill me if I got in the way."

"Marwyn is an idiot. Ghouls are smarter than him. Why would I kill you for such a flippant reason?"

She didn't have an answer for that.

"You're useless, therefore killing you now would be a wasted effort."

That gave Sapphire some relief. She hoped that meant he wasn't going to torture her either. She wasn't very sure that he still wouldn't torture her. She stayed silent. Her father was less furious than before, but his mood could change in an instant. She'd learned that from years of seeing him lose his temper with incompetent undead and cultists. She had always been hiding at the time, but the terror was ever present.

"I have also learned that you're damn dog only tells me where you go and what you do. This will let me know what you are thinking."

There was a sudden shock as agony wracked Sapphire's neck. She screamed, reaching up to her neck. Hard metal greeted her fingers. She tried to pull it off, but it was a ring of saronite around her neck. She collapsed to the ground, writhing. It was the worst pain she had ever felt. It was like her entirely body was on fire. She had once gotten burned when Marwyn had taught her to make a fire. This was a thousand Her chest felt tighter and tighter until she realized she wasn't breathing. She gasped, unable to take in any air.

She clutched her throat, trying to loosen the collar. She dimly realized that the collar was not choking her at all, it was loose around her neck. Her vision darkened.

* * *

Rot looked at Sapphire's limp body. His tail, which had been wagging furiously before, slowly stopped. The dog went over to Sapphire, sniffing her hands. He whimpered, and nudged her limp fingers with his tiny nose. Rot bit her thumb, but there was no reaction. The dog sat down, whining.

"Be quiet, Wendell. She's not dead."

The dog didn't look up, even at the sound of his old name. He curled up against Sapphire, then looked up defiantly at the Lich King. He didn't seem at all concerned.

"You're lucky that I don't kill you again. And believe me, that Adalger Calwood is nothing compared to me," The Lich King snarled. Rot whimpered again, his whole body quaking. He crawled over to Sapphire's face, and stared at the Lich King.

"It would seem that Sapphire takes the loyalty of any undead that goes near her."

Rot barked, wagging his tail.

* * *

Sapphire woke up groggily, feeling stiff and sore. She tried to move, but her whole body ached as if she was covered in bruises. When she opened her eyes, it was very dim. She almost fell back asleep, but there was the scrambling of paws on the floor, and the sound of something small hopping on the bed. Rot came over to her, sniffing. When she groaned, his ear perked up and he attacked her with his tongue. She didn't push him away, so soon her face was damp from dog saliva. Rot scraped her with a bony paw, and almost wrapped his front legs around her neck. He laid down, wagging his tail, and stuck his tongue into her mouth. Sapphire grunted.

"Rot, no. Ugh..."

She pushed him aside, and realized that she was back in her bed. Sapphire sat up slowly, and winced from the pain. There was a crunching sound nearby, and Sapphire looked toward the noise.

Lethumo sat in her room, a basket in his arms. He had a bright red ball in his head. Sapphire watched as he bit into it with a snap, and chewed. Suddenly, he noticed Sapphire was awake.

"Oh, hey," He said, mouth full of food. Sapphire gave him a disgusted look, for there were bits of food stuck in his teeth.

"What's that thing you're eating?" She asked.

The deathknight took another out of his basket, and tossed it to her. Sapphire barely caught it. It was rounded, with a lumpy bottom. On the top, there was a tiny stick poking out. She examined the thing closely.

"Kid, it's called an apple. Food! Eat it...You'll love it."

She had only ever had dried apples, and those were not very appetizing. Hesitantly Sapphire did as he said, biting into it. It was hard at first, but under the cover it was softer. Liquid came out of it, much to Sapphire's shock. It was the best thing Sapphire had tasted. It was crunchy, soft, and juicy at the same time. Sapphire chewed the piece she had bitten off, and bit into the apple again.

Rot watched her sadly, waiting a bit. Out of the corner of her eye, Sapphire saw Lethumo toss his half-eaten apple to Rot. The dog barked, and grabbed the apple. He tried picking it up, but it was too heavy for Rot, so he just chewed on it where it lay.

"I bought them in Dalaran. Figured you had never had an apple. Maybe next time, I'll buy you some oranges."

"Orange, like the color?" Sapphire asked.

"Yeah. It's like an apple, only better."

That sounded impossible. Sapphire could barely believe the apple was real. When she looked into the basket Lethumo was holding, she saw about a dozen more, some green and some a shiny yellow. "Better than this?"

She received a look of pity from Lethumo, and looked down at the apple. Sapphire wondered what else she didn't know about. The night elf looked at her thoughtfully.

"Oh yes...Hmm. Maybe that could work."

Sapphire tried to get off her bed, but she felt a sharp pain from her neck. She reached up, and touched saronite. It took her a second to remember where it came from, and tears came into her eyes.

"Lethumo, where's Marwyn? Is he okay? And what about Zyperias?"

The night elf froze, which caused Sapphire to fear the worst. Lethumo sighed.

"Marwyn is fine. Still being punished, but he's a tough bastard. Zyperias obeyed the Lich King, so he's fine." There was a touch of anger in his voice when he spoke of the San'layn. But Sapphire was just relieved, until Lethumo smiled.

"You, however, are banished!"

Sapphire stared at him in horror, dropping her apple. Rot lifted his head from his own masticated apple on the floor. The night elf's smile faded.

"It's a joke, sweetheart! But you are leaving Icecrown. The Lich King is sending you to Naxxramas. There's someone there that might "fix" you. I'm not really sure what's wrong with you, but it's not my decision. Oh, don't look at me like that...You're gonna love Naxxramas. Huge, floaty, and full of undead! And on the way...I think I can take you to Dalaran on the way. I need to meet a friend anyway. You might like him. He's your age, and he has a dog! Horribly naive too."


	13. Chapter 13

"Look, Sapphire. There's Dalaran."

Sapphire shook her head, clutching Lethumo's body tightly. She had her eyes closed, and was trying not to panic and fall.

When they had started to leave, Lethumo had first changed armor and put on a strange tabard over it, and then introduced Sapphire to Glacier, an impressive Frostwyrm that he used as a mount. She was not as large as Sindragosa, but she was still huge. After a quick introduction, Lethumo had helped Sapphire get onto the frostwrym. Rot was stuffed into a saddlebag unceremoniously. It was only when Glacier went over to the edge of the saronite platform that Sapphire had realized just how far the ground was. She then protested against going, but Glacier just leaped from the platform into the air, and Sapphire had hugged Lethumo as tightly as she could. She had tried to look down, but had panicked again and shut her eyes, not looking for the entire time.

"Come on, kid! Dalaran is amazing to look at, floating up in the sky."

"No! Don't tell me that! What if it falls?" Sapphire whimpered. Lethumo snorted in amusement, trying to loosen Sapphire's grip on him. He had started feeling his ribs straining under the pressure.

"The mages wouldn't let it fall...I'm sure you won't even notice how high in the sky we will be in. Here, we're landing now."

Sapphire didn't open her eyes until she felt and heard Glacier land, the undead dragon's claws making a scraping sound. Slowly, Sapphire opened her eyes. Dalaran was ugly. Sapphire had been expecting something like Icecrown Citadel, maybe a floating version of it. But Dalaran was bright and colorful, with thin spires and not a single chunk of saronite in sight. The buildings were all smooth and made of some kind of pale material. The roofs and tops of the spires were all a pale purple color. They had landed in a round flat area. And there were living people all around her.

"Lethumo! Lethumo, there are mortals here! Fly away!"

The deathknight sighed. "Oh dear. Sapphire, they are fine. They think I'm a Knight of an Ebon Blade. I've been here multiple times."

The girl scowled. "What about Glacier?"

"She's my trusty frostwyrm that I stole from the Scourge. She's nice and tame, aren't you Glacier?"

Glacier snarled angrily. Lethumo shrugged, "Well maybe not tame...But she won't murder anyone while we are here."

The night elf hopped off of Glacier, and held out his hands for Sapphire. She slowly climbed off, and took Lethumo's help. She looked around the area in disgust and horror. There were people around her, and none of them were Scourge. This was only the second time that Sapphire had seen mortals that were not on a torture rack or in a cell. The people around her were like wild wolves, which Sapphire only knew from books and from the skins that Marwyn would bring from his hunting trips. They were vicious and untrustworthy, unlike dogs.

Speaking of dogs, Rot was struggling in the bag. He clearly wanted out, but Sapphire just picked up the bag without taking him out. Glacier turned around, and flew off, leaving Sapphire amidst disgusting living people.

Lethumo seemed cheerful as he led his charge through a building. Sapphire clung to the night elf's arm.

When they entered the main city, Sapphire was still unimpressed. The pathways were made of a bunch of flattened rocks, nothing like the smooth saronite of her home. Sapphire tripped on on of the cracks in between the rocks. Lethumo caught her, seemingly unconcerned. Sapphire looked around the city, seeing lots of strange things. a woman was standing next to a strange thing that held what Sapphire knew to be flowers, but they were not like the flowers the girl used in potions. They were all brightly colored. A certain kind caught Sapphire's eye, a blood red flower with curled up petals, on a thorny stem. Sapphire went over to them, ignoring Lethumo. She picked up one of the flowers, and smelled it, breathing in a heavy but sweet scent.

"I'll buy three of those," She heard Lethumo say to the woman. He gave her something, and went over to Sapphire. He picked up two more roses and gave them to her.

"Come on. You can sniff the roses on the way." He said, taking the girl's arm. She still hated Dalaran, but the flowers in her hands were a comfort. As she walked, she noticed some paladins walk by. Self-consciously, she wrapped her fur lined cloak tighter around her neck, hiding the saronite collar. She walked close to Lethumo too. The deathknight took her to an "inn" called the Legerdemain Lounge. He took her to a table in the room, and sat her down. He called over a mortal, and ordered food. Sapphire was still examining and smelling the roses.

"You really like those, don't you?" Lethumo said, grinning. Sapphire nodded.

"I do! Thank you so much."

Rot poked his head out of the bag, and his little nose quivered as he sniffed. Sapphire let him sniff a rose, but snatched it away when he tried to eat it. Rot tried to force himself out of the bag, but he couldn't even get a paw out.

Sapphire stuffed his head back in, and closed the bag. Rot barked indignantly.

"Where's your friend?" Sapphire asked Lethumo.

"Should be here soon. Oh, here's the food."

A mortal put plates in front of both deathknight and girl. Sapphire looked at the food with a scowl. There was hunk of meat that Sapphire didn't know, some white mushy stuff and an assortment of colorful things. She looked over at Lethumo.

"Uh...What is this stuff?"

"Haha, I forgot. That is steak. It's made from an animal called a cow...It's like a tauren that walks on all fours. That white stuff is mashed potatoes, and the rest are corn, carrots, and peppers. Just eat them."

Sapphire took her fork and tentatively tried a bit of each. The steak was better than the jerky that she usually ate. She didn't enjoy the potatoes much, but the rest of the stuff Sapphire couldn't even describe, they were so good. Lethumo ate, despite not needing to. It was more out of habit than need, probably.

There was a barking from outside, and a huge dog came running into the inn. It was a shaggy mutt, nothing at all like Rot or the plaguehounds Sapphire had seen. The dog wagged his long tail furiously. His huge tongue was hanging out of his mouth. The dog saw Lethumo, and barked. It lunged toward him, and wrapped his paws around the night elf's neck. It licked Lethumo in the face, and looked over to Sapphire. She yelped when the dog attacked her, burying her face in black fur.

"Ni'kua, down! Bad dog! Forgive me, miss. He's usually more calm than this."

Someone pulled the dog off of Sapphire. Sapphire was about to say that it was fine, that she liked dogs, until she saw the person.

He was human. She assumed he was her age, because she had never seen anyone her age before, and he looked very different from Marwyn. He wasn't pale, but looked like fresh prisoners, ones who spent their lives in sunlight. He had a smile on his face while he restrained his dog. His hair was black, and messy as if he had just woken up. His eyes were green, not glowing blue like Marwyn or red like Zyperias.

She stared at the boy, who got rather uncomfortable.

"Uh, hello...My name is Ethan Calwood. Sorry my dog got overly friendly."

Lethumo wiped his face with his cloak. "Apology accepted. That's a friend, Lady Sapphire. Lady Sapphire, this is my best bud Ethan."

"Lady Sapphire," Ethan said, bowing his head. Sapphire smiled.

The boy sat down next to Lethumo. The dog, Ni'kua, sat next to Sapphire. She reached out and pet him. His tail wagged even faster, and he licked her hand. While she did that, Lethumo and Ethan talked.

"I still don't understand why I have to eavesdrop on my superiors," Ethan said. Lethumo took the papers the boy handed him.

"Oh, because...You're so good at it! And the commanders aren't going to just tell me what I need to know...Is this the movement of troops in Dragonblight?"

"Yes. I wrote down the numbers as well."

Lethumo grinned. "You are such a help to the Alliance!"

Sapphire looked over at them, still petting the dog. Lethumo was good. Ethan thought Lethumo was on his side, and he gave him crucial information from the Alliance, thinking it was helping. But the only ones that benefited from it was the Scourge.

"Does your brothers know where you are?" Lethumo asked.

"Yes. They are at Wintergarde Keep, waiting on me."

Lethumo grinned. "I suppose Adalger isn't too happy about that."

The boy grimaced. "Please don't talk about him."

"You know...If something were to happen to Adalger..."

Ethan stopped him. "No! Don't even speak like that!"

"Aw, come on. That fucker tortures you. He's like a rabid dog and needs to be shot."

Ethan looked over at Sapphire. "Watch your language...There's a lady here. Forgive my friend's vulgar mouth, Lady Sapphire."

Before she could say anything, Lethumo nodded. "Oh yes. Forgive me."

That shocked Sapphire. She had never thought he'd apologize for anything. Ethan seemed a bit surprised too. The night elf noticed their shock, and quickly recovered.

"So, I got to take Sapphire to her new home...Gotta go deal with that. Afterwards, I'll meet up with you in Wintergarde."

Ethan nodded, and turned to Sapphire. He held out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Lady Sapphire."

Sapphire looked at the hand, confused. Lethumo was behind him, and gestured for her to put her hand in his. Sapphire did so, and blinked when Ethan kissed her hand. Lethumo glared at Ethan.

"Okay! Bye Ethan...Let me know if you want me to kill that bastard brother of yours. And leash your stupid dog next time."

Lethumo grabbed Sapphire and took her away, but she quickly grabbed her roses and the bag with Rot in it. The puppy had gotten his head back out of the bag, and had caught sight of Ethan and his dog. Rot was whining unhappily and loudly, but he quieted when he lost sight of them. He looked extremely upset. Sapphire just assumed it was because he had wanted to play with the other dog.

Glaceir landed as soon as they returned to the platform. She growled at Lethumo.

"What do you mean we're going to be late? Screw her. I'll come when I'm good and ready."

Sapphire frowned. "Her?"

"Yeah, your new caretaker and teacher. Don't worry, you'll like her. It's me she despises. Actually...She hates all men I think. You will be fine."


	14. Chapter 14

They were surrounded by spiders, which was why Lethumo was clinging to Sapphire, instead of the other way around. The spiders weren't very friendly, hissing at the two.

Lethumo and Sapphire had arrived to Naxxramas late like Glacier had said, but Lethumo had brushed off the concern. Until he realized that instead of Sapphire being taken off his hands instantly, he had to take her through the necropolis, specifically the Arachnid Quarter. Apparently, the night elf was scared of spiders. Sapphire was not sure why, but it didn't make her feel any better. She wasn't happy as she had to comfort him through the place, rather than him comforting her. The spiders moved slowly out of the way as they went through the area, their many legs creaking. Tiny spiders ran over Sapphire's boots.

There was a string of curses as one spider got to close to Lethumo. He kicked at it, and the spider hissed. It was the size of Rot, but the other larger spiders all looked at the night elf. He hugged Sapphire's neck, strangling her. She struggled to get him off of her.

"Lethumo...Why are you afraid of spiders?" She gasped. The night elf noticed what he was doing, and loosened his grip.

"I've had some bad experiences with the disgusting bastards when I was younger," Lethumo said nervously. A dark green spider hissed at him.

Rot trotted ahead, seemingly unconcerned with the amount of deadly spiders around. He found a web covered bone, and just picked it up without hesitation. The dog looked back at Sapphire and Lethumo, barking through the bone in his mouth. His little tail wagged furiously.

"You are late!"

Sapphire flinched at the stern voice. Lethumo, however, let go and went to the woman standing in front of them. Several spiders were surrounding her. The woman was intimidating, standing taller than Sapphire and even Lethumo. Her hair was a fiery red, a stark contrast to Sapphire's blonde hair. She wore colorful colors, matching the colors of the deadly spiders around her.

"Honey, I'm home!" Lethumo said. He spread his arms as if to hug the woman, but a spider sprang forward and Lethumo screamed, flailing backwards.

"Lethumo, you bastard. I am not your 'honey', and if you try to hug me again, I'll gut you myself and watch as my babies eat you."

The night elf grinned mischievously, but carefully avoided the spiders. He retreated back to Sapphire, and pushed her forward. More than a little scared, Sapphire slowly approached the woman. As if she was a shield, Lethumo stood behind her with one hand on her shoulder. Sapphire did not appreciate it. The woman looked at Sapphire sternly, and the girl wished she was behind Lethumo instead of the other way around.

"So, Sapphire. This is Grand Widow Faerlina. She's my girlfriend."

The woman laughed coldly. "I'm _not_ your girlfriend, night elf. You are lucky I don't use you as a test subject for my poisons. Now, Get out! Unless you want to say hi to Maexxna?"

"Nope. I don't want to get anywhere near that bitch. Bye Sapphire! Have fun. Don't look Faerlina in the eye, make sure you eat your vegetables...Oh, and whatever you do...Don't touch the cat."

Sapphire quickly grabbed the night elf's arm before he could leave. She looked at him fearfully.

"You're just going leave me here? I thought you were my friend..."

The night elf looked at her face and saw just how scared she was. Sapphire had never left Icecrown before, and she had no idea what to do. And now her only friend was leaving her. Lethumo sighed.

"I will come back in a week."

"Tomorrow!" Sapphire pleaded.

"...Two days?" Lethumo negotiated. He hugged Sapphire before she could protest. Without another word, he left Sapphire. She quickly turned to Grand Widow Faerlina. She knew about the women, but didn't know how she was going to be treated.

Sapphire said nothing. She looked at one particularly vicious looking spider. It was huge with thick legs, giant fangs, and covered in thick course hair. Eight black eyes stared at her. Then, he crawled forward. Sapphire gasped, and backed away. Faerlina grabbed her arm in a painful grip.

"Paz is just being friendly. He's harmless, unless you are an enemy."

Paz the spider came over to Sapphire, and rubbed his legs against her. She whimpered. Venom dripped from his fangs, which were a foot long, and thicker than Sapphire's arm. The spider felt her with large hairy feelers.

"He likes you. Well, if he likes you then I suppose I will too. Come with me."

Grand Widow Faerlina kept her grip on Sapphire and directed her deeper into the Arachnid Quarter. Paz followed closely behind Sapphire, the other spiders following after him. Rot ran forward eagerly. The halls were lined with webs, large white egg sacs, and of course spiders.

"What did Captain Marwyn teach you? Anything?"

Sapphire flinched at the woman's irritated voice. "He taught me stuff. How to read, History of the Scourge, Northrend geography...He took me to classes where I learned alchemy and math."

"Oh yes. I heard about that. Created a cure of the plague did you?"

Sapphire instantly started protesting. "Yes, but I just did it to see if I could! I'd never tell any mortal-"

"Calm down, girl. I don't have a problem with what you did. In fact, several cultists know the cure. I guess that deathnettle extract, life root petals, cockroach eggs, and banded swallowtail wings, among other things?"

The admission that she was not the only one to make a cure for the undead plague shocked Sapphire. But Grand Widow Faerlina did not seem very concerned with it.

"Did...Lethumo tell you why you are here?" The woman asked, spitting out Lethumo's name with utter disgust.

"No. But you train cultists, don't you? You're going to fix me, aren't you?"

Grand Widow Faerlina looked like a stern woman at first, but she gave Sapphire an indulgent smile.

"Fix you? I don't see anything wrong with you. No, I'm going to teach you everything I know. If there is anything that needs fixing, it's your unwarranted fear of everything. You flinch every time I speak with you."

Sapphire blinked. "But...Marwyn told me-"

"That deathknight is an idiot. What did he tell you? That you are just some common cultist? Well, you are not. If you wanted, you could order just about any undead in Naxxramas. Almost. I'll tell you about everyone that lives here soon, but until then, you stay within the Arachnid Quarter. No spider or nerubian will harm you. I might introduce you to Anub'Rekhan. Of course you'll meet Maexxna, probably feed her once or twice."

Maexxna was a spider, the largest one in Naxxramas. Sapphire felt a bit nauseous just thinking about seeing her. Much less feeding her. The girl felt like she was going to pass out. Faerlina took Sapphire to a hall hidden by thick spiderwebs. Doors lined the walls, and it was spider free.

"This is where you will stay. Your room is the open door on the right. Tomorrow you will start your training with me. Paz will be your guide. If you get lost, ask him to take you wherever you want. And...watch your dog lest he get eaten by something."

Sapphire looked around for Rot, and found him trapped in a spiderweb, thrashing about wildly. She tore the dog free, and the dog tried to stick his tongue on her face. Paz scuttled forward, and rubbed his head on Sapphire's leg. She went into her new room, which was nearly identical to hers back in Icecrown. Sapphire put Rot on the bed, and sat down next to him. Paz could barely fit through the door, but he came in anyway. With one leg, he closed the door, and crawled up the wall to a ledge that seemed made for spiders. He looked down at Sapphire, and made a gurgling sound, which she supposed meant he was happy. She watched numbly as the spider got comfortable, and was soon asleep.

Rot curled up on the pillow, and fell asleep just as fast. When Sapphire laid down, all she could do is fidget, listening to all the strange noises outside. All the while, the collar around her neck felt like ice.


	15. Chapter 15

Hey...Whatever happened to my "Arthas" reviewer? I miss him.

* * *

"Oh dear...Where'd I put it?"

There was a scraping sound near Sapphire's head. She moaned, and pulled the blanket over her head. The noise got closer, and suddenly the blanket was ripped away from , Sapphire opened her eyes in alarm, and recoiled in horror.

A hideous creature was staring at her in confusion. It had a grey face of a bat, with tiny purple eyes, fangs thicker around than Sapphire's fingers, and large rounded ears. But instead of eating her, or ripping off her face, the creature snorted before turning away.

"That's not what I'm looking for."

The creature raised a wing, and scratched himself. Sapphire sat up, quickly realizing what the thing was. The wings, the batlike face, and the now apparent stony skin revealed it to be a gargoyle. Coarse fur covered it's head and back, and overly large feet thumped against the metal floor.

"Where'd it go?" The gargoyle whimpered. He opened up the chest at the end of Sapphire's bed. Never had she heard a gargoyle speak before. Slowly, she got up and approached the gargoyle. Above, Paz still slept peacefully. Rot was no where to be seen, which slightly worried Sapphire. The gargoyle rummaged through clothes, and books that the Grand Widow had supplied Sapphire with. He picked up the books one by one, sniffing them, and reading the first few pages before tossing them away in disgust. Sapphire reached out and tapped on the gargoyle's back, which was covered in coarse black fur.

"Excuse me...sir?"

The gargoyle snapped up his head and turned to Sapphire. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Did you call me sir?" He demanded. Sapphire stepped back, and nodded nervously. The gargoyle's mouth twisted into a smile, the ugliest smile Sapphire had ever seen.

"Oh! Oh, that's the nicest thing anyone has ever called me! You're my new best friend! My name is Tibbles."

The gargoyle snatched Sapphire's hand in his wing paw and shook vigorously. Sapphire smiled at the friendly gargoyle.

"Hi. My name is Sapphire Menethil."

Tibbles the gargoyle blinked, tilting his head.

"Menethil...Menethil. Ooh, that sounds familiar. Where have I heard that name before...Oh! Is that the name of the traitorous Highlord, Darion Menethil?"

Sapphire scowled. "No. His last name is Mograine."

"Oh! Hello, Sapphire Mograine."

"No! I'm...You know what? Just call me Sapphire."

Tibbles nodded. "Okey dokey! Can you help me find my special book? I lost it, and it's the only book I have."

The gargoyle sniffled suddenly, and looked down unhappily. It tore at Sapphire's heart. She took his wing paw.

"Of course I will. Where did you last have it?"

The gargoyle perked up, and opened his mouth. He then scratched his ears. It seemed that he did that a lot. Tibbles was the nicest gargoyle Sapphire

"I don't know...Maybe I left it in the Military Quarter...No! No, I left it in the Construct Quarter. Now I remember! Come on!"

The gargoyle flew out of the room, Sapphire running out to follow him. She then stopped.

"Tibbles, Wait!"

The gargoyle fell to the floor, and tilted his head at her.

"What's wrong?"

"I...I'm not allowed to leave the Arachnid Quarter."

Tibbles shrugged. "We just won't tell anyone!"

Sapphire looked around, but the immediate area was empty. Only tiny spider crawled along the floor, scurrying past Sapphire's feet. She sighed, and followed Tibbles. The gargoyle flew up again, and left, occasionally stopping to wait on Sapphire. As they left the Arachnid Quarter, Sapphire looked around for Rot. She expected him to be stuck in a web, or terrorizing the smaller species of spiders, but he did not show up. It worried Sapphire greatly, but she would help Tibbles find his book first then find the canine troublemaker.

They went into the middle of Naxxramas, where they could leave the necropolis, or magically teleport to Sapphiron's lair, which led to Kel'thuzad's chambers. Sapphire didn't feel keen on meeting her namesake, or the archlich.

As they went to the entrance of the Construct Quarter, Sapphire felt something furry brush up against her leg.

"Mroow!"

She looked down, expecting Rot. Instead, there was some other kind of animal rubbing it's back against her. It was a lean, graceful looking animal, with a flatter face than Rot, with lots of whiskers on its face. The animal had a longer tail than Rot, and it's ears were smaller. The creature made the same noise, and licked Sapphire's shoe.

"Hello there...What are you, cutie?"

Sapphire reached down, and picked up the animal. It didn't seem to mind, rubbing against Sapphire as she cradled it.

"Aw, you're cute. I think I will keep you."

"Sapphire Mograine! Come on! My book is up there!"

She went into the Construct Quarter, where Tibbles sat on a pipe above her. A few abominations looked over at Sapphire, but they decided she wasn't worth killing. Entrails covered the floor and Sapphire sidestepped them as she went over to the pipe. Tibbles pointed to an opening in the wall, another pipe where green goo dripped.

"It's in there! There's this ugly little grey thing chewing on it. I can't get in there though..."

"Rot! That's my puppy. How do I get up there?" Sapphire said worriedly. Tibbles flew back down, and grabbed onto Sapphire's shoulders with his clawed feet. Sapphire yelped as he pulled her up in the air. The fluffy animal in her arms hissed in anger, and dug sharp claws into Sapphire's arms, drawing blood. Tibbles dropped her onto the pipe.

"There we go...Oh. Are you okay?"

Sapphire nodded, shaking. She went over to the open pipe, and looked in. There, at the other end, was Rot. He was chewing on a thick book, but when he saw her, he lifted his head, and woofed happily. The pipe was lined with goo, and Sapphire really did not want to go into it. But she took a deep breath, and entered the pipe, holding her breath. Green fumes came off the goo, and Sapphire went through the pipe quickly. Her boots were soon coated in plague slime, and she was happy when she was three feet from Rot. The dog tried to pick up the book and run, but he just dropped the book out from the other side of the pipe. Rot looked down and was going to jump. Sapphire pounced at him, trying to grab him, but she went too far forward, and fell out the pipe and down several feet. She landed hard on her side, and she gasped in pain.

There was a deep, echoing growl. Sapphire looked up.

A monster, a hulking mass of fur, entrails, and bone, approached Sapphire. Flesh ripping claws scraped against the ground. Blood dripped from it's jaws, and it's eyes shone with a ravenous hunger. And it was looking at Sapphire.

The girl gasped, and tried to find a place to hide. There was no where. She couldn't outrun the massive plague-dog, and she definitely couldn't fight it. It was a terrifying way to go. Sapphire never imagined being killed and eaten. She barely noticed her neck hurting, too terrified to see the plague-dog hesitate.

The plague-dog suddenly sat down on its hindquarters. Sapphire stared.

Tibbles finally got through the pipe, scraping his wings against the sides. He peered out, and screamed.

"Gluth!"

The plague-dog looked up and snarled. Then, it went over to Sapphire, before sitting down in front of her. She was frozen in horror. Gluth snorted, and laid down, putting it's massive head inches away from Sapphire. She wasn't sure how to react. The plague-dog was acting like...Rot. A puppy. She reached out, but then put her hand back, expecting Gluth to lurch up and eat her. When he didn't, Sapphire reached back out and touched his paw. She pet him. Tibbles stared at the two in horror.

"Oh! You're Sapphire _Menethil! _The Lich King's daughter! That makes much more sense."

* * *

Tibbles hummed to himself as they returned to the Arachnid Quarter. He was reading his book happily. Rot was behind him, chasing the gargoyle's twitching tail. A few feet behind, Sapphire followed. She saw Paz at the entrance of the quarter, looking extremely agitated. Sapphire clutched the fluffy animal which Tibbles had called a cat, in her arms. The fetid smell coming from behind Sapphire told her that Gluth was still behind her. A ruined undead was clutched in his mouth, and the plague-dog's stubby tail was wagging.

Paz hissed at Sapphire when she came over to him.

"Sorry Paz...I was helping that gargoyle find his book. And Rot disappeared...And well, I met Gluth here."

The plague-dog snarled. Paz hissed nervously.

"Gluth! Get back to your quarter this instant," Grand Widow Faerlina yelled as she strode toward them. The plague-dog whined, which was a terrifying noise. It dropped the undead, and leaned over to Sapphire. She tried not to scream when Gluth licked her with his rotting tongue. Then, the plague-dog left, stomping back to the Construct Quarter.

Grand Widow Faerlina came over to Sapphire, fury flashing in her eyes. Sapphire tried to apologize.

"Grand Widow, I'm sorry. I-"

The woman slapped Sapphire. The girl flinched, looking down.

"You're lucky that Gluth did not eat you, otherwise I'd be picking up pieces of you and having to explain to the Master why you were even in the Construct Quarter! Care to tell me why you disobeyed me?"

"I was helping Tibbles find his book. Rot had stolen it."

The woman turned to Tibbles. The gargoyle quailed, clutching his book.

"She's telling the truth. I lost my book and she helped me get it."

"She's the Lich King's daughter, you stupid gargoyle. You serve her, not the other way around. Get out of my sight!"

Tibbles put the book in his mouth, and flew off. Grand Widow Faerlina sighed in frustration, and grabbed Sapphire's arm.

"I'm tempted to just put you in a cage and feed Gluth the key. Come on. I need to teach you a few things."


	16. Chapter 16

Sapphire was led into a dark room filled with shelves and tables. Poisons bubbled in vials, dessicated spider eggs lay scattered over the tables, and there was jars with scorpions, spiders, and even a few with snakes. Grand Widow Faerlina gestured for Sapphire to sit in a chair next to a bloodstained cage. The girl sat down, head bowed. She expected a lecture, and possibly a beating.

Faerlina did neither for the first couple of minutes, just went behind a table and rummaged around the glass jars and vials. She said nothing, picking up a jar with a spider the size of a hand inside.

"You are the offspring of the Lich King. He's a god, unforgiving and unrelenting, as cold as Icecrown itself. And here you are, as intimidating as a snowflake. And that idiot, Marwyn, seems to have taught you to fear the Lich King."

Sapphire looked up. "Shouldn't I? He's the Lich King."

Faerlina leaned over the table suddenly, furious.

"You're his flesh and blood. What have you to fear from him? Death? It's almost painless, and you'll be raised into a powerful undead. Torture? He has far more entertaining people to torture. Throw you to the mercy of nature? There's no reason for it. There are, however, several reasons why he keeps you not only alive, but within his immediate reach. You are to him what a single piece of gold is to a miser. Something insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but something worth keeping in his mind. And perhaps, somewhere deep down, he's got a paternal instinct. He doesn't love you, because he has no capacity for it. But if you were surrounded by paladins, he might be bothered to send a few ghouls or a frostwyrm to help you. Or at least he'd collect your body afterwards instead of leaving it to rot. And one other reason that I can guess. Despite everything he's done, _she _stills irks him to no end."

"She?" Sapphire asked curiously, but the Grand Widow shook her head.

"I'm not allowed to speak of her. You will have to discover it on your own. Right now, I suppose I'll start teaching you how to stop acting like a whipped dog, and start acting like a voracious wolf. Here, hold out your hands and keep them relaxed. She's harmless."

Sapphire didn't like the way Faerlina said that, and quickly obeyed. She cupped her hands, and kept her arms relaxed. The woman opened the jar, and gently coaxed the spider into Sapphire's hands. It was a bright yellow and green, and Sapphire winced as it slowly crawled on her arm.

"That's a yellow and green orb weaver. It lives in the jungles of Stranglethorn. Have you learned about Stranglethorn?"

"It is at the bottom of the Eastern Kingdoms, isn't it?"

"Correct. The yellow and green orb weaver feeds on large insects and even small birds. They create vast webs and prefer hot and humid areas. Obviously, this girl has been bred to handle the cold of Northrend. Here, I will take her back now."

Faerlina scooped up the spider in the jar, and screw the lid back on tightly. Sapphire wiped her hands on her robe.

"Good girl. If you had moved, she would have bit you and you'd be writhing on the floor. At least you can obey when you need to."

"Wait, you said she was harmless!" Sapphire protested.

"I lied. Now, tell me what you know of venom."

For hours, the Grand Widow interrogated Sapphire on what she had been taught, and when the woman found Sapphire's education lacking, she lectured the girl until satisfied. Sapphire knew most of the history of the Scourge, why and how it had been made, the Third war, and everything that her father had done. She knew a bit about nerubians. Nothing about dragons.

Being an animal lover, Sapphire knew about lots of animals, but she had no idea what they truly even looked like. The cat that she had found, she had never heard of. Supposedly tigers were large cats, more the size of a horse than the purring creature in Sapphire's arms. Zherva and crocolisks were almost mythical things to her, the same for cows and chickens. Marwyn had brought her animal pelts to keep her warm, but they were all dead. Rabbits, wolves, and huge bears were nothing to her but flat pieces of fur to put on her bed or turned into boots and cloaks. At the moment, Sapphire was wearing a bear fur cloak that was ruined by plague and Gluth's bloody drool.

Faerlina asked Sapphire what she knew of geography, but she was ignorant of some things. She didn't know exactly what an ocean was. The largest amount of water that Sapphire had experienced was the water in a filled bathtub. She had seen pictures of trees, but she had only seen a few, and that had been a few in Dalaran, which Sapphire was not impressed with. A stick of wood growing out of the ground, with green stuff on the top. And she knew a jungle and a forest had lots of trees, but to Sapphire, that meant probably ten or twenty. Mountains, Sapphire understood. Blizzards and snow were daily occurences in Icecrown, but when the Grand Widow asked Sapphire what rain was, the girl just blinked in confusion.

Of the Horde and Alliance, Sapphire knew a bit of their history and what races belonged to which faction, but Faerlina waved that aside as unimportant. Only after Sapphire had been questioned about nearly everything did the woman stop. Sapphire had not noticed before, but Faerlina looked exhausted. It must be nearly morning, and neither had gotten any sleep. Quickly, Sapphire felt her own exhaustion, and she suddenly yawned.

"All right. That's enough for today. Go back to bed...And please, whatever you do, stay within my quarter!" Faerlina snapped harshly. Sapphire nodded, and left. She took the cat, and the sleeping body of Rot to her room. She opened the door to her dark room, and put down both animals. The cat disappeared under the bed. Sapphire was going to collapse onto it, but suddenly arms gently wrapped around her body.

"Don't scream, sweet blood. It's only me," a voice purred in her ear.

"Zyperias! Don't do that!" She tried to look at him, but her room was very dark. He pulled her to the bed, and forced her to lay down. Suddenly, the lights came on and Zyperias was partially on top of her. He leaned down and kissed Sapphire. After he stopped, he sat on the edge of the bed.

"I came hours ago to surprise you, but you weren't here. I was almost worried."

"Rot stole a gargoyle's book, I tried to go get it, and was nearly eaten by Gluth but I'm okay because Gluth likes me and let me pet him."

If the San'layn had been expecting an answer, he had certainly not expected what Sapphire had said. His usually cool demeanor disappeared and he looked at her in horror.

"Are you insane? You...pet Gluth?"

"Yes. And he likes me."

Zyperias smirked rather awkwardly, still taken off guard. "Well, of course he does. Who would not like you, my dark angel?"

"I don't know..." Sapphire said sleepily. She made herself comfortable on her bed, and covered herself with a blanket.

"I can see that you are barely conscious and to continue this conversation would only delay the inevitable. Go ahead and sleep. I shall watch over you."

Sapphire didn't hear a word he said. She was already asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

Lethumo came back just as he had promised, only to find Sapphire hard at work. Grand Widow Faerlina had made sure to keep the girl occupied so she wouldn't wander. When she wasn't learning about spiders, poisons, and anatomy, she was made to do menial tasks like labeling poisons, feeding smaller arachnids, and anything else that Faerlina wanted.

Before sleep, Faerlina would try to unteach what Marwyn had taught Sapphire. Lethumo later came up on one of the unteaching sessions, and peered in. Sapphire looked exhausted, but Faerlina was persistent. In a saronite cage, Rot was scratching at the metal bars furiously and occasionally whining. A spider was curled up against the girl's feet.

"Marwyn taught you to show mercy, did he not? Well, forget that. No one deserves mercy and it's nothing but a weakness shackling you to the moral values of the living. Morals are useless and-"

"-very good lovers," Lethumo interrupted as he entered. He gave Faerlina a confident smirk. The woman scowled.

"Watch your tongue, deathknight!"

"Hey, honey, I'm just trying to give you a compliment. You're still mortal, so you are still warm and-"

A spider dropped down from the ceiling. Lethumo screamed, falling backwards. He scrambled away, hiding behind Sapphire's chair. The girl turned to look at him.

"Why do you antagonize someone who commands poisonous spiders?"

"What can I say, she's hotter than a summer day in Tanaris! Point of advice. The more vicious a woman is, the better the sex is."

Sapphire tilted her head. "Why would I need to know that?"

Lethumo shrugged. "I don't know. In case you decided to broaden your horizons."

Grand Widow Faerlina looked furious. She pointed to the door. "Get. Out!"

"Hey, Sapphire asked me to come back, sweetheart. Let me at least hug my dear friend?"

Sapphire turned to the woman and gave her a bright smile. "Please?"

Faerlina grunted. "Fine. But never say 'please" again. And wipe that grin off your face."

Chastened, Sapphire almost ducked her head but clearly Faerlina had been teaching her something, for Sapphire stopped herself and she kept her head up. Lethumo ruffled Sapphire's hair, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder in a partial hug. Rot barked angrily from his cage.

"How's Naxxramas suiting you, kid?"

Sapphire hugged Lethumo tightly. "Fine. It's been a little hard though..."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll do fine. Killed anybody yet?"

Before Sapphire could reply, Faerlina sighed in frustration. "She hasn't got that far yet. Falric of course tried to force her to kill rats and she could barely handle that. Though I've learned she can poison rats just fine. Killing from a distance."

"Like you?" Lethumo asked.

"Of course. I'm quite cold-blooded. While you prefer the direct, aggressive act of killing with a sword, I prefer the calming act of watching someone die slowly and painfully from poison, or watching them be eaten by my spiders. But I can kill with a sword as well...Maybe even better than you."

Lethumo went over to her cautiously, grinning. "I'd love to have you challenge me to a sword fight. Whoever wins gets to be on top."

Faerlina gave him a look of disgust. "You must suffer from brain rot to be so perverted."

"My brain is fine. Like your body."

There was a tug on his cloak, and he remembered that Sapphire was still there. She looked at him angrily.

"You came to visit me, remember?"

Lethumo grinned, and hugged Sapphire amiably. "Of course! Why don't we go adventuring tomorrow. If Her Grace will allow me?"

He tilted his head at Faerlina and batted his eyes. He took Sapphire's chin and turned her face to the woman as well.

"Look at her with those puppy eyes of yours, maybe she'll let us."

Grand Widow Faerlina waved dismissively. "Fine. But stay within sight of Naxxramas, or I'll cut out your intestines, Lethumo."

"Will do!"

* * *

Afterwards, Sapphire took Lethumo to her room with Rot and Paz following. She was glad that Lethumo had came back. Grand Widow Faerlina was great, but she had missed her night elf friend. Zyperias had been as busy as Sapphire, only showing up in the middle of the night. He would briefly ask about Sapphire's day, and then kiss her profusely before she fell asleep. By morning, he would be gone with nothing but an elegantly written note.

When Sapphire and Lethumo came to her room, they were greeted by a gargoyle clutching a book.

"Sapphire Mograine! Hi!"

Sapphire sighed. "It's just Sapphire, Tibbles. Sapphire."

"Sapphire!" Tibbles said, grinning.

Lethumo raised an eyebrow. "Uh...Mind introducing us?"

Sapphire smiled. "Right. This is Tibbles, my new gargoyle friend. Tibbles, this is Lethumo my night elf friend."

Tibbles dropped his book and lunged at Lethumo, quickly grabbing the deathknight's hand and shaking it.

"Nice to meet you!" The gargoyle said.

"Hi," Lethumo said awkwardly. Sapphire picked up Tibbles' book and opened the door.

"Come on in, Tibbles. You too, Lethumo."

They all went into Sapphire's room, making it a bit crowded. Paz just crawled up to his ledge, and Tibbles flew up to it. He sat next to the spider and dangled his legs off the edge. Lethumo looked around.

"Just like your old room, eh?"

Sapphire nodded. She pulled her chest over to her bed and let Lethumo sit on it. She knelt on her bed, and smiled at Lethumo. There were sounds under the bed as Rot scratched the metal floor.

"I really missed you, Lethumo..." Sapphire said, suddenly teary-eyed. The night elf frowned at the sudden change.

"Hey, now. I know I'm awesome, but you don't have to cry."

Sapphire shook her head, and rubbed her eyes. "It's not that. I like it here, but I'm just so stressed out. Faerlina drives me really hard. And she just gets frustrated with me sometimes...I'm not cut out to be as cold as she wants me to be."

The tone in her voice softened Lethumo's look. He moved off the chest, and sat down next to Sapphire. He pulled of his pack, and opened it. Sapphire tried to look in, but the night elf just smirked.

"Close your eyes."

Sapphire sighed, but did what he said. She held out her hands expectantly. He put something in them, and she opened her eyes.

In her hands were a bunch of red roses, about twenty. They were wrapped up in a silken bundle and tied with ribbon. Sapphire touched the petals, and sniffed them.

"Thanks, Lethumo! Oh, I love them so much."

"Good! Now, take a deep breath and smell them. Don't worry about Faerlina. You will improve eventually. I can see you as a cold-hearted bitch. But when you are a woman...Not as a sweet young child such as yourself. Want some advice? Don't try to be cold. Try to act like...a queen. Head up, back straight. And when you talk to someone that is not your friend...Talk to them like they just kicked Rot or something."

Sapphire looked horrified at the last comment, but nodded. "Okay. That helps a little I think."

"Of course it does. I said it. Now, kiddo, why don't you go to bed? I'll take the flowers and put them here. Tomorrow we are going to have some fun. Snowball fights, setting fire to things, and I'll teach you how to use a bow!"

Lethumo put Sapphire to bed, and tucked her in, talking about how fun making snowballs was and how bows were fun. It almost felt like Sapphire was back in Icecrown, the only difference was that she had two new friends sleeping above her head and that Marwyn was probably being tortured as she thought of him. Tears came up in her eyes again, and Sapphire was thankful that Lethumo was sitting next to her, trying to clean under his nails with a knife.


	18. Chapter 18

Sapphire woke up to arguing. She opened her eyes and sat up in alarm. The angry voices were outside of her room, just outside the door. Paz had crawled down from the ledge and curled up with Sapphire at night. She didn't even feel horrified as she pushed the hairy, multi-legged creature out of her way. Tibbles was still on the ledge, talking in his sleep about bones. The voices got louder and rather sleepily, Sapphire went to investigate.

When she opened the door, Sapphire saw Zyperias and Lethumo in the hallway. Zyperias was clearly irritated, his entire body tensed. The look on his face made Sapphire think he wanted to kill Lethumo. Lethumo was, as always, smiling even as he argued.

"They were just flowers, Zypo. It's not like I pronounced my undying love to her. When we went to Dalaran-"

Zyperias interrupted him, anger in his voice. "You took her to Dalaran, a city of enemies? On whose authority?"

"Uh...Mine? It's not like anyone would have hurt her. She's a teen girl that was hanging out with a deathknight. What idiot would try to hurt her?" Lethumo scoffed.

"She's a beautiful young woman with a drunkard as a bodyguard. I doubt you could protect her from a kobold with a butterknife. You endangered the Lich King's daughter for what reason?"

"To let her see a bit of the world? She's never left the safety of Icecrown Citadel before. That's why I want to let her down on the ground and have a snowball fight with her."

"Absolutely not. There is the Alliance, the Horde, and wild animals down there," Zyperias snarled in protest.

Lethumo waved dismissively, thoroughly unconcerned. Sapphire was confused by the scene before her. Lethumo was being carefree, as expected. But Zyperias getting overprotective annoyed Sapphire, if it made her happy to see him so concerned.

She opened the door all the way and approached the two elves. Lethumo saw her first.

"Hey, kid! Ready to fight a war with snowballs?"

She nodded. Zyperias scowled.

"I don't think it's a good idea-"

"Shut it, Zypo! Sapphire and I are going to have fun...A concept you are unfamiliar with."

Zyperias snarled. "Would you stop calling me that?"

Lethumo smiled and, in a sweet voice, said, "Would that make the little bat happy?"

Sapphire could see the murderous look in Zyperias's eyes. The San'layn was probably imagining thousands of torturous ways to kill Lethumo. She decided that she needed to intervene.

"Why don't you just come with us Zyperias?"

The San'layn looked over at her, the anger draining from him. Lethumo didn't seem happy with the offer, but he didn't protest.

"Fine. You need a proper guard if we are leaving the safety of the necropolis."

Lethumo grabbed Zyperias by the shoulder, grinning. "All right then! Don't get all uppity if I hit you in the face with some snow though."

* * *

Lethumo took them to a small clearing full of snow, with things he called trees. They were nothing more than big sticks of wood with strange green stuff sticking out of smaller sticks. Tiny rabbits hopped away as they approached. Sapphire had only seen dead rabbits, but she thought they were cute. Sapphire walked through the crunchy, thick snow. Tibbles had followed as well, clutching his book while Lethumo taught Sapphire how to make a snowball.

Zyperias was leaning against a tree. He had a black cloak wrapped around him, the hood pulled up over his head, hiding his scowl as he watched Sapphire. In his hands was a struggling Rot, who desperately wanted to play in the fluffy snow.

After they made a pile of snowballs, Sapphire and Lethumo attacked each other. Lethumo was a better aim, so Sapphire was soon covered with snow. Lethumo didn't have a flake on him. He had a vicious grin on his face.

"Do you surrender?" He asked.

Sapphire threw a snowball at him, but missed. He laughed, and rushed at her. The night elf grabbed Sapphire and pushed her into the snow, ignoring her squeals of protest. He sat on her.

"Surrender, and I'll let you up."

The girl struggled, grunting as she tried to sit up with the deathknight on her back. After a minute, Sapphire went limp in the snow.

"Let me up. I surrender."

Lethumo made to stand up, but as soon as his weight was off of her, Sapphire attacked him. She attacked him and knocked him down into the snow. She grabbed a handful of snow and threw it into the elf's face.

"Ah! Ambush! Help me, Zypo!"

Zyperias turned his head to looked at them, and snarled, "My name is not Zypo..."

He looked indifferently as Sapphire tried to bury Lethumo in the snow. The night elf pushed her off of him, and fled, weaving through the trees.

Grabbing two snowballs, Sapphire ran after her. Zyperias called out to her, but she just laughed and chased after Lethumo. Small animals flew off in terror as she ran through the snow covered area. Sapphire tripped over a rock, and hurt her ankle.

"Ow! Okay...I give up. Lethumo! I fell. Can you come help me up?"

There was no answer, and Sapphire worriedly looked around. She gently forced herself up, her ankle throbbing.

"Lethumo? Where are you?"

When there was still no answer, Sapphire limped forward, looking around the place. She was certain there was nothing going to hurt her, otherwise Lethumo would not have taken her there.

She finally came near a large river, with land on the other side. Sapphire had never seen a river, so she looked at the water curiously. It was moving fast, with occasionally a stick or something else floating down through the water. There were some strange animals in the water too. Sapphire looked around, hoping to find Lethumo on the sides of the river or something. She saw a figure in saronite armor standing over someone else on the ground. Maybe Lethumo and Zyperias had gotten into another fight. With a sigh of relief, she headed over to him.

"Lethumo! Leth-"

The deathknight turned, forcing Sapphire to stop approaching. Somehow, Sapphire knew that it was not a Scourge deathknight. He was human, bigger and bulkier than Lethumo. With a quick look to the figure on the ground, Sapphire realized it was the night elf. He was unconscious, blood caking one side of his face.

"What's this...another Scourge rat to kill?"

Sapphire fled, but her hurt ankle betrayed her, and she fell down into the snow. Before she could get out, the deatknight grabbed her painfully by the hair, pulling her up. Sapphire was too frightened to even fight back as he took her over to Lethumo, but when she saw the elf's bloodied face, she tried to fight. But the deathknight threw her to the floor, and kicked her in the stomach. Sapphire cried out from the pain.

Two more men came up, only these weren't deathknights but living men with red armor and strange tabards. The one that had caught Sapphire and Lethumo waved at them dismissively.

"Take them to New Hearthglen. The small one doesn't look like she'll last more than a few interrogations, but the elf might."


	19. Chapter 19

Sapphire was shoved into a prison cell, and Lethumo was dragged into it as well. The second the door slammed shut, Sapphire knelt down next to Lethumo. The night elf had not regained consciousness once during the trip. The knights had taken them to a pair of living horses, and taken them through a landscape of trees and snow.

Sapphire was starting to get really scared. It was cold, and Sapphire was hungry. For breakfast, she had only eaten a small slice of bread, and one of the nice apples Lethumo had brought to her. She couldn't even try to escape, even if Lethumo was conscious. In the back of her mind, she had a dark thought of just running off and abandoning Lethumo to his fate. It was his fault after all.

But a second later, Sapphire felt guilt wash over her from that idea. Lethumo was her friend. Besides, she could never outrun the horses.

They were taken to a group of buildings, set up on a large cliff. The buildings were as ugly as the ones in Dalaran, made of white stone and woods with There was a great amount of the armored soldiers, with more deathknights riding atop skeletal horses. Sapphire and Lethumo had been taken to a large stone building, and then taken down a flight of stairs to a bunch of prison cells.

The prison cell was rather small, but large enough for both prisoners. There was nothing in it but a wooden bed and a bucket. Sapphire's bedroom was elegant compared to this.

After a few minutes of shaking Lethumo and saying his name, the night elf opened his eyes and groaned.

"What happened?"

Sapphire helped him sit up, and put him against the wall.

"You got knocked out by a deathknight that's not Scourge...I thought he was you. And a couple of living took us here. Lethumo, I'm scared."

The night elf nodded. "Don't worry kid. I'll get us out. What race were they, and what did their armor look like? And what does this place look like?"

"They were all human, even the deathknight. They had a lot of red on them. And the place is ugly...Bunch of white stone buildings."

Lethumo took a deep breath. "The humans, did they say the name of the place."

"New...Heart something."

The night elf covered his face with his hands, groaning. "New Hearthglen. Oh Light..."

The despair in his voice was not comforting. Sapphire looked around at the stone walls, suddenly very cold. She shivered, and crawled over to Lethumo.

"What are we going to do?"

Lethumo was taking deep breaths, ideas running through his head. Sapphire figured he could come up with a way to escape. Or Zyperias had learned of their predicament, and was going to help them. Or, more unlikely, Sapphire's father would help them.

"Lethumo...Lethumo! We can get out of here, can't we?"

The night elf looked at Sapphire. "Sapphire...These people are insane. Even if I could break out of this cell, there are a lot of them. And they have deathknights. Even I can't fight a bunch of deathknights and the Light crazy lunatics that are the Scarlett Onslaught. I just don't know...The best thing I can do is kill you."

Sapphire sucked in her breath. "Kill me?"

"Yes. You don't think they won't torture you, do you? Trust me, death by me would be a kindness. I can make it quick and painless."

Terror filled the girl. Despite everything she knew was going to happen to her, she didn't want to die even if Lethumo promised it would be fast. For some reason, she knew this is not how she was supposed to die. As if to remind her of her fragile existence, the collar around her neck pained her. She tugged at it, hoping that adjusting it would help.

"No. We'll figure a way out," she said.

Lethumo gave her a look of pity, hearing the fear in her voice. He moved to sit next to her, and pulled her into a hug. Sapphire returned it, laying her head on Lethumo's chest.

They stayed like that for a while. Sapphire had never noticed how warm Lethumo's hugs were. She cuddled up against him, which caused Lethumo to smile despite the situation.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I like your hugs," Sapphire said.

There was a grating sound as they opened the door. Sapphire snapped her head in alarm as an armored man came in and pushed her away. He grabbed Lethumo by the throat, and pulled him up. Sapphire cried out as the night elf was forcibly taken out of the cell. The night elf fought, but another man came in and hit Lethumo in the face. There was a cracking sound.

"Lethumo! Leave him alone!" Sapphire yelled. She tried to attack the living man, but he just shoved her aside. She hit the floor, and didn't see the metal boot that went headed toward her stomach.

Pain exploded inside her when the man kicked her, and she screamed. She didn't get up, writhing in pain.

"There's more where that came from, kid."

It was hours before Lethumo was brought back. He was tossed in, and Sapphire immediately went over to him. His armor had been taken away, and he wore nothing but thin, bloodstained clothes. Lethumo did not look good, groaning in pain. Black blood coated his entire body. There were burn marks and cuts all over him. Sapphire tried not to touch any of his wounds, afraid of hurting him further.

"Lethumo, are you okay?" Sapphire asked. She knew it was a pretty stupid question, but it was the only once she could thing of. She was shaking badly, terrified.

The night elf opened his eyes, and grinned weakly. "Sure. Never been better."

He started coughing, and blood sprayed out. Sapphire recoiled in horror. She looked at him worriedly.

"Are you going to die?" She asked.

"Unfortunately, no. My body will heal itself, rather painfully. It's you who might die."

Sapphire looked at him unhappily. She ignored what might happen to her, and instead tried to make Lethumo comfortable. She still had her cloak, which she took off and balled up. Lethumo moaned when she lifted his head and placed the makeshift pillow under it.

"Sorry..."

"It's fine. Sapphire, have I ever told how beautiful you are?"

Sapphire stopped fixing the cape under his head, and looked over at him.

"What?"

"You are the most person girl I've ever seen. I know I'm too old for you, but I just can't help myself. Besides, that stupid San'layn is too old for you. I feel like I can easily compete with him."

Clearly Lethumo was crazed from the pain. Sapphire didn't like the idea of her friend being attracted to her, and she loved Zyperias. Or so she thought. Now that she thought about it, she liked being around Lethumo more than she did Zyperias. She felt like she could tell Lethumo anything, and some things, she didn't want to tell Zyperias. She never told the San'layn how she sometimes secretly wanted to be a deathknight, but Lethumo knew about it. He had taught her a bit about sword play, but she was not a very good at it. Zyperias would say it was a silly dream, and try to be smooth about it, but it would be insulting to Sapphire.

Lethumo didn't treat her like a child either. He treated her like an equal and didn't act overprotective, though the reason they were in this horrible place was because of Lethumo irresponsibly taking her out of Naxxramas. She didn't blame him though. The mortals were the ones that were going to torture and possibly kill her, not Lethumo.

She looked at Lethumo with pity. "I didn't know you felt like that. Why have you never told me before?"

The night elf coughed. "Because...I think you are going to die. They'll want to know who you are, and you won't hold out long. When they find out who you are...They will give you the worst death imaginable. Keeping my secret seemed a bit stupid. Sorry. It's stupid."

Sapphire shook her head. "No. It's not stupid, Lethumo. It's really sweet. I would be lying if I said I felt the same way though. I honestly do not know how to react. Maybe if I do make it...I could like you the same way."

"And leave Zyperias?" Lethumo coughed out a laugh.

"Maybe. Would I have to? Can I not have you both?"

The night elf suddenly sat up, despite the pain he no doubt felt. He stared at Sapphire.

"Well, I actually would have no objection to that. Zyperias is a petulant little child though, and doesn't like sharing his toys."

Sapphire scowled. "Then he'd just have to sulk. I'm not a toy."

Lethumo grimaced, laying back down."That you aren't...Ah. That really hurts. They cracked about...six of my ribs. Ow! Seven..."

Sapphire gently laid down next to him. "It's okay. Try not to move. You will feel better soon."

She figured she might as well try to get some sleep, curling up into a ball. Lethumo touched her hair reassuringly. Her neck burned, and there was a cold tingle down her spine. She rubbed at her neck under the collar. The skin that had been touched by the collar was as cold as ice. Sapphire wondered if her father knew she was trapped. He said the collar was to help him know what she was thinking.

_Help me,_ She thought rather pitifully. She knew there would not be a response. Why would he help her, a useless little girl? Sapphire felt tears well up in her eyes, and she brushed them aside. Sleep eventually came over to her and the last thing she heard was Lethumo sigh.


	20. Chapter 20

Sapphire's sleep was interrupted by rough hands. She gasped as she was pulled up from the ground. Lethumo sat up, groaning in pain but despite that he tried to stop the men from taking Sapphire away. A man in dark armor just kicked Lethumo in the side and the night elf bowled over in agony. The man grabbed Sapphire from the other person. The girl tried to hide her disgust. It was the same deathknight that had caught the two of them.

"Let me go!" She said defiantly. The deathknight just backhanded her, his metal glove ripping the skin of Sapphire's cheek. She cried out in pain, but couldn't fall back. The deathknight took her out of the cell, and the other man slammed it shut and locked it.

Blood streamed down Sapphire's face, and the wound on her face throbbed painfully. She clutched at it, trying to not to whimper. If she did, they'd know just how much of a weakling she was. She tried to struggle, but that earned her a punch in the stomach. Sapphire gasped in pain.

Despite observing all kinds of torture, Sapphire only liked it when it was done to other people. Now she knew exactly how some of those people felt. The terror...the loud beating of her heart in her chest. Now she felt bad for the mortals that she had seen tortured.

There was a blood trail coming out of one room, which is where the deathknight opened and shoved her in. Sapphire had a view of a table and restraints before she was hoisted up and slammed down against it. She gasped, and fought, trying to claw at the deathknight. The deathknight slammed her head against the table. Pain exploded from the back of her head, and her vision swam. In horror, Sapphire felt them ripping off her clothes. Lethumo had been wearing clothes, even if they were completely soaked with blood. Unable to fight back, Sapphire was stripped naked, and then tied down.

As soon as she was secured, the deathknight and the mortal left, leaving Sapphire alone. She looked around, seeing sharp knives, pliers, saws, and syringes. Some things Sapphire recognized for specific purposes, like pliers for tearing out the nails or ripping out the tongue along with a device to keep the mouth open. They only did that when they had nothing to learn from the victim. A lit brazier in the corner had rods of iron sitting in it, ready to be taken out and pressed against Sapphire's skin. There was a cat's paw, which was made up of curved spikes used for tearing the flesh from the bone. Sapphire trembled. They were all covered in blood, even a large saw.

The torturer came inside. He wore black clothes like the torturers at Icecrown. It hid the blood stains. His brown had had streaks of grey in it, but the dark, amused look on his face was all Sapphire cared about. He was one of those that liked to torture, and did it for fun. Sapphire wanted to cry. She tried to swear not to say anything.

"Hello, sweetheart. You look scared...Don't be. Just answer my questions, and I don't even have to use any of these." The man gestured toward the tools. Sapphire knew that was a lie. He'd torture her anyway.

The man continued. "Why don't we start with something simple. What's your name?"

That was anything but simple. Sapphire did not answer him. She looked up, and saw chains with hooks hanging from the ceiling. Sapphire shut her eyes.

"Not going to answer? A shame. A beautiful girl like you might be able to be saved..."

Sapphire had no idea what that meant, but it didn't sound good. She saw him pick up a knife. A whimper came out of Sapphire.

The pain was worse than she imagined. Her flesh was cut open by the knifes, causing Sapphire to tense up. She grunted each time the man cut her, but she refused to scream. Blood streaked down Sapphire's body, and it felt like each slice was on fire. Sapphire tried to distract herself by thinking of other things. Spiders weren't as terrifying as she thought. They had eight legs and way too many eyes, but they were friendly. Paz had liked her almost immediately. She wished she could see Paz again.

And Tibbles. Most of the gargoyles at Icecrown were vicious, snarling at Sapphire and chasing her off. But Tibbles was nice, if a bit stupid. He could read, but he was very forgetful. Despite the pain she was feeling, she hoped Tibbles and Paz were okay. Paz was probably waiting for her to return, and Tibbles would be looking for his book. Rot probably took it. Rot...She missed her puppy terribly. And he didn't like being far from her for long. He'd soon worry and whine, scratching at doors and trying to ask anyone for help, but no one would understand. Above all, Sapphire hoped Zyperias knew what had happened, and was trying to save her somehow.

Being cut was not the worst thing. Sapphire had accidentally cut herself on knives or glass before. It was painful, but bearable. The torturer had not asked her any more questions, but instead got a vial of liquid and forced Sapphire to drink it. She choked on the stuff, which tasted like metal. Then, he put down the dripping knives and went over to the brazier full of fire.

Whatever the liquid was, it did not agree with Sapphire. Her stomach and throat were feeling like she was being stabbed from the inside. She whimpered. Then the hot irons came. Sapphire had promised herself not to scream, but as soon as the red hot metal touched her skin, she betrayed herself. The smell of burning flesh filled her nose even as the pain made her cry. Tears ran down her face. She writhed under the restraints.

"Please stop!" She cried out, sobbing.

"Why should I listen to a little cultist? Isn't this what your kind enjoy, suffering and death? Or do you only like it when it happens to others?"

That had been true for Sapphire. She had thought torture was entertaining before. Marwyn hated her sneaking down to the dungeons to watch torture sessions, but Sapphire did not know why.

The man tortured her for what seemed like hours. Her screams stopped when her throat gave out, and she could barely speak. All the while, the torturer demanded who she was and what she had been doing in the forest. He asked for things Sapphire doubted any lowly cultist would know, like troop movements, and secret ways to get into Naxxramas. Sapphire was pretty sure there was no secret ways to get into Naxxramas, and said so. That caused the man to laugh. Sapphire hated him with a passion. Not only because he was torturing her, but because how much he enjoyed it. The man had been smiling the whole time.

By the time he was done, Sapphire's whole body was either burned, or smeared with blood. She couldn't even move without enduring agony, both on her body, and inside. The potion she had been given made her feel as pained inside as she did out. Her throat hurt from her screaming. She was dragged out by some young men, and taken to the cell.

She didn't even try to stay conscious long enough to speak with Lethumo. As soon as she was dropped, the pain from the fall caused her to black out.


	21. Chapter 21

Oh my god...So, I introduced an idea for this story to my friends. And they were OVERLY enthusiastic about it. So...Yeah. This story is going to be WAY more messed up than I originally planned. If you don't want to be horrified and traumatized, turn back now. I doubt any of you really care seeing as how you're reading this in the first place, but I felt obligated to give you a heads up.

* * *

It was worse the next day. Sapphire's body was aching and the burns felt like they were still on fire. Scabs cracked whenever she moved. Lethumo was no where to be found, which discouraged Sapphire. She had been hoping for him to be there, to tell her it was going to be okay. When the men came for her, Sapphire couldn't even fight back. As she was taken back to the torture room, the scabs opened up fully. Blood ran down her body in red rivers. She was strapped down on the table, though she doubted it was needed. She felt so bad, she thought she was going to die.

But she didn't. The man gave her the painful potion again, and picked up the device used to rip out nails. Sapphire thought she couldn't scream, but when he slowly tore out the first one on her left hand, she screamed as loudly as she could, and writhed in agony. Blood spurted out of the cavity. Sapphire moaned, feeling an urge to throw up. The sight of her finger doused in blood, and without a nail was the worst thing she had ever seen. Then, the man broke her entire finger. As the agony wracked her, horror went through her mind. She would have preferred he had done her right hand instead. She used her left hand for everything and after he ripped out her nails and broke all of the fingers, she sobbed quietly. There was no doubt in her mind that she could never write again, or use that hand in any way.

She didn't even hear any of the torturer's questions. She just tried to stay conscious. As the man asked her something, Sapphire felt something in the back of her mind. Something powerful and dark. Then, it spoke.

_Do you find it ironic that the living find the Scourge repulsive, doing cruel and evil acts, then they go around and preform the same acts of "cruelty" and "evil"? Hypocrisy at its finest. I'm not saying that what is happening to you would not happen in the dungeons of my own Citadel, but I don't try to hide it or justify it with some self-righteous reasoning.  
_

Sapphire knew it was her father, and was actually relieved to hear him. She saw the torturer had decided to return to the hot irons, and whimpered.

_Will you help me? _She thought in her mind, hoping for an answer. It took a while, but her father answered.

_How brave to ask such a thing. You've lasted longer than I imagined, so how could I refuse? I can take away your pain. But I do not give something for nothing. Do you want the pain to go away?  
_

_Yes. Please yes! I'll do anything! _Sapphire begged. Almost instantly, the pain drained away, and Sapphire was suddenly very cold, as if she were laying naked in snow. When the hot iron pressed against her skin, all she felt was the pressure. There was no burning sensation. Sapphire could have sighed in relief, but the next thing her father said made her wished the pain was back.

_That San'layn that is besotted with you will come in three days. I will only keep the pain away for today. Tomorrow, you can ask for my help again. Think hard before you agree to it. The price will be steeper.  
_

He never told her what the price was. After the torture session, Sapphire was dragged back to the cell. She didn't feel any pain when she collapsed to the ground. Lethumo was there and he quickly went to her side.

"Sapphire...Sapphire are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"Don't lie, sweetheart. You can tell me. Oh Light...He broke your fingers? Why aren't you in tears?"

Sapphire wondered if she should tell Lethumo. She took a deep breath. Lethumo was her friend, someone she could trust with anything. He had trusted her enough to tell her his feelings.

"My father spoke with me. He offered me a deal. He would take away the pain, and I am supposed to give him something in return. I don't know what, but he did tell my Zyperias is coming to rescue us."

Lethumo stared at her and snarled, "No. Tell me you didn't. You made a deal with the_ Lich King_? Oh Sapphire, how could you be so stupid?"

Sapphire flinched, and started crying. The night elf softened his voice.

"I'm sorry. It will be okay. Just...don't ever do that again. Hopefully, he will be generous this time."

Lethumo hugged her and although it didn't hurt her, he grimaced in pain himself. Sapphire promised to herself not to accept her father's offer.

Food arrived an hour later, to which Lethumo let her have all of it. He didn't need to eat, and when Sapphire looked at him, he looked no worse than the day before. Most of his injuries had healed due to him being a deathknight, though he had been tortured again that day. As Sapphire ate, she had to eat with her right hand. She couldn't even look at her left hand without feeling sick to her stomach.

Sapphire had been given ragged clothing to wear, but it was cold in the cell, and stained cloth did not to keep her warm. When night came, she was shivering the entire time and Lethumo couldn't help her much. A small part of her wished she could ask her father for a bit of warmth. She was worried now about the price. What could her father possibly want from her? Her soul? She doubted that was it, because he had said the second day's price would be higher. Wouldn't a soul be worth more than anything. Or, maybe he had lied. Rather unlikely, he might want to just take his daughter's suffering away, but also wants to have some entertainment out of it. Faerlina had said the Lich King felt like Sapphire was a part of him. Maybe he hated the fact that someone was torturing a piece of him. It seemed like a logical guess. Maybe there was no price to pay. It was just a cruel joke to torment her while she deliberated over accepting his help.

Either way, it made it difficult for Sapphire to decide whether to accept his help. Lethumo did not want her too...but the pain. It was awful. All she had to do was look at her hand, and she decided she would break that promise to herself.

She felt a distant sense of satisfaction coming from her father.


	22. Chapter 22

The next day, thankfully, they didn't bring Sapphire out to torture, to which she was thankful. However, whatever her father had done to her to keep the pain away, it finally faded, and all the pain came running back. Every time Sapphire moved, she wanted to whimper and tell her father to stop it. But she restrained herself. Even though he was probably busy with other things, Sapphire could just feel him on the edge of her consciousness. For some reason, she was feeling him stronger than before.

The pain wasn't as bad when she stayed still, but it was hard to resist the need to adjust her position now and then. Food came by and was set out two feet from her. Sapphire looked at the hunk of bread longingly. She slowly moved toward it, moaning as her body ached. Already the scabs had opened up, though they did not bleed as profusely as before. Sapphire took the bread in her right hand, and ate it slowly.

Lethumo was back, with dark bruises all over his body. Sapphire looked at him pitifully. The older burns were not as bad, but the ones from the day before scorched her arms.

"Hey. How are you?"

"Good. They are frustrated. I don't think they expect any good information from you, but they are being relentless with me. I'm not about to betray the Master."

Sapphire winced. She didn't want to either, but the pain was getting to her. Lethumo was made of tougher stuff than Sapphire. The night elf saw the look on her face, and mistook it for the pain she had.

"Are you hurting?"

She nodded, and let Lethumo check her injuries. She whined when he touched her mangled hand.

"Light...Those don't look to good. I should have tried this yesterday. I'm going to try to realign your fingers. It will be easier for the cultists to heal when we get back. This is going to hurt badly, kid."

_It doesn't have to. You are trying to resist, child. What exactly do you think I shall ask of you? Your soul? Your firstborn child? _At that, the Lich King laughed darkly.

Sapphire sighed. Lethumo took her hand, and she gasped as pain bloomed from her hand. She whined, tears falling down her face.

_Fine. Please take the pain away. Take it away until I can come back home. I just...I wanna come home, Daddy..._

Something akin to surprise came from the Lich King. Following Marwyn's advice, she had never called him Daddy, at least to his face. But Sapphire wanted to go home. She wanted to hug Rot, and pretend this had never happened. The pain was too much. Like before, her father took it away, replacing it with nothing but cold. But he didn't say anything after that, not even to taunt her.

She let Lethumo fix her fingers, and pretended to feel it and was relieved she didn't have to. Afterwards, Lethumo tried to get her to sleep, but she wasn't in the mood. She just laid down next to Lethumo, feeling anxious. Lethumo reached over, and stroked her hair. When she looked over at him, he stopped, and cleared his throat.

"Sorry."

Sapphire shuffled closer to him. "It's fine. You can do it."

The night elf smiled at her, and then wrapped an arm around her shoulder. He ran his fingers through her hair, and sighed.

"We can hold out until the baby bat Zyperias comes and rescues us. Can't we Sapphire? You are tough, and lasted this long. As soon as we get back, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to drink all the alcohol in sight. What about you?"

Sapphire whispered. "I just want to see Rot again."

"Aw...I miss that little mutt too. Don't worry. He's probably playing with that flighty gargoyle right now. Now, try to go to sleep."

Sapphire laid her head down in Lethumo's lap, and closed her eyes.

The next day, there was still no pain and as they took her to the torture chamber, Sapphire mentally thanked her father as she saw the torturer with nails and a hammer on the table.

It was as she feared. The torturer intended to drive the nails into her flesh. Sapphire wondered just how painful that would have been, and could only imagine what kind of damage it would do to her body.

She was put down on the table, and despite the fact she wouldn't feel any pain, she quailed at the sight of those sharp metal nails. She recoiled back when the main looked for a place to start.

There was yelling above the room, and a large shudder. Sapphire looked up fearfully. Feet thundered toward the room. A man stumbled in, his read armor splattered with blood. The torturer stopped what he was doing.

"What's happening?"

The knight said nothing. Then, he pulled out his sword and stabbed the torturer in the gut. The man gasped, and fell to his knees. A hooded figure came inside, and with a wave of his head, the knight clutched his throat, blood bubbling from his mouth. He pulled his hood down, and Sapphire nearly cried. Zyperias looked over at her, and sighed in relief. He came over to her, unstrapping her from the table. He leaned down and kissed her.

"Sweetheart, are you all right? The Lich King told me what was happening to you, so I had to rush the plans. Here, put your arms around my neck."

Sapphire did so, and the San'layn picked her up gently. A deathknight came in as he did so. Zyperias nodded toward the injured torturer.

"Take him to Icecrown. The Master would like to have a...talk with him."

Zyperias took Sapphire out of the room, and climbed up a set of stairs. They went up into the main floor, where Lethumo leaned against the wall. He grinned at the two. He had somehow found a bottle of wine, and already it was halfway empty.

"Hey, Zypo. Took you long enough."

The San'layn bristled in anger. "I could have just left you to rot, Lethumo. But that would have upset my sweet Sapphire and-"

"Pissed off the Master, because he told you to rescue me too. Me and him are best buds."

Zyperias scoffed. "Hardly."

Sapphire rested her head on his chest. "Zyperias...My fingers are broken, and my body is covered in cuts and burns. Can I please go home?"

The two elven men looked at each other. Zyperias smiled at her softly.

"Of course, sweet blood. I'll take you back right now."

They left the building and Sapphire saw that Zyperias had brought a small army of undead. She could see abominations, ghouls, and deathknights fighting men in red armor. Frostwyrms wheeled overhead. One dove down and landed in front of them. Sapphire recognized it.

"Glacier!"

The undead dragon growled at her, but it didn't sound like an angry noise. When Zyperias put Sapphire down, the frostwyrm reached out with her snout, and rubbed it against Sapphire's face gently. Zyperias helped her get up onto the dragon's back, and quickly mounted up in front of her.

"Can you hold onto me?" The San'layn asked. Sapphire nodded, and wrapped her arms around. Lethumo climbed up too, sitting behind her. Glacier roared, and flew off. Sapphire squeezed Zyperias tightly, and shut her eyes.

* * *

They arrived at the Citadel a couple of hours later. Zyperias refused to let Sapphire walk more than two feet. He carried her the entire way to where the cultists were waiting to work on her broken body. Sapphire was giving several potions to drink, not a single one even remotely tasty. Sapphire laid down as they healed her hand with magic. The rest of her body was slathered with salves and wrapped cloth. Zyperias stayed with her the entire time, offering her all kinds of food and drink. Sapphire just took some bread, and red wine from him.

"This is wine, right? Not blood?" She asked half-seriously.

Zyperias snorted. "It's wine, darling. Just drink it. Are you sure you don't want me to get you fruit or some honey to go on your bread. I can get you anything you want, Sapphire. All you have to do is ask."

Sapphire glared at him, suddenly reminded of her debt to her father. "No. I don't want anything!"

The San'layn blinked in surprise and replied in a hurt voice. "All right, sweet blood. I guess I shall leave you to rest in peace. I will check on you later."

He kissed her on the forehead, and left. Sapphire laid down, sighing. She just watched the cultists working on her hand. Something caused her to look away, and she looked around the room.

There, standing in front of the doorway, was Grand Widow Faerlina. She approached Sapphire.

"You've had a hard time," The woman commented.

"What are you doing here? Is Paz here too?"

Faerlina nodded. "And that mutt and gargoyle. I brought them all with me. I've been ordered here to finish teaching you. And keep that reckless night elf in check."

Sapphire smiled. "Even if he tries to flirt with you all the time?"

"That is a downside. I brought an ample amount of nonlethal poisons however," The woman said sadistically.

"Well, I'm glad you're here," Sapphire said. Faerlina gave the girl a small smile.

A deathknight came striding in. Sapphire sat up as he came over to them. He seemed grim, which worried Sapphire.

"Lady Sapphire. The Lich King wants to tell you that you are to stay in bed until you have recovered, and then he will want to see you."

Dread filled Sapphire's heart, and she hoped it took her a while to heal.


	23. Chapter 23

**Here is the chapter I warned you guys about. I wrote this days ago, but I had to finish up the other chapters. Don't say I didn't warn you. It's pretty messed up. (Also, this is my first time writing anything like this. Don't judge me!)**

* * *

It did not take long for Sapphire to heal enough to walk though she only walked around when no one was in the room. Faerlina and Lethumo visited frequently, but Sapphire only saw Zyperias twice. Lethumo never spoke of what he had said to her in the prison cell, though he was probably thinking about it. The night elf had recovered greatly, and had broken into his secret stash of alcohol, and found Sapphire a box of mint candy. Sapphire had never had anything like it, and Lethumo had to restrain her not to stuff the boxful of sweet, fresh tasting candy into her mouth. He gave her a piece now and again until they were all gone. And one day, he brought her a rose, which Sapphire took gratefully.

Faerlina wasn't so comforting, though it seemed like she was trying. She gave Sapphire a book to read on poisonous plants, and made her read certain chapters, pointing out which plant leaves could be boiled like tea, or what seeds could be put in bread. Sapphire really didn't want to listen about how to kill or poison people, but that was Faerlina's way of comforting the girl, and she had already wounded Zyperias. And Faerlina might want to poison her or something if Sapphire complained.

Not once did her father come see her, or even talk to her. He was silent, which worried Sapphire greatly. The collar around her neck just felt like a plain piece of metal.

Even though she was terrified on what her father was going to do, Sapphire could momentarily forget her anxiety. The best part of her recovery was when Rot, Paz, and Tibbles came to visit. The second Rot and Paz saw her, they rushed over. Rot hopped up into her lap, but Paz clambered onto the bed, and affectionately rubbed his body all over her.

Tibbles crouched next to the bed, a grotesque smile on his stony face. "Sapphire friend! I've missed you so much."

"Hey Tibbles," Sapphire said, trying to push Paz off of her. The spider clung to her abdomen with all of his legs, and she couldn't budge him. Rot was licking her arm furiously.

The gargoyle helped her get Paz off. The spider instead laid down on top of her legs. Tibbles didn't have his book with him, but he found the poisonous plants book and opened it up with wide eyes. Sapphire decided to let him keep it.

"Are you here permanently, Tibbles? Please say yes," Sapphire said hopefully.

"Oh, yes, yes, yes! I got a job. I get to guard the front of the Citadel," The gargoyle said proudly, puffing out his chest.

"That's great!" Sapphire said. Paz hissed at her fretfully, wanting attention. Tibbles said he had to go anyway, but he would come back and bring her back a present from the outside. As soon as he flew off, Paz loved on Sapphire. Rot seemed upset at being ignored, so Sapphire tried to pet them both at the same time, using her still recovering left hand to stroke one of Paz's legs.

A day came when a cultist declared her fit to leave, and Sapphire did not have to wait long for a deathknight to come escort her to her father. Paz had stayed with her the entire time and wanted to come with her, but she told him to stay. The spider chittered unhappily, but stayed where he was. Rot was forced to stay as well, though his cute attempts at howling told Sapphire he was as upset as the spider was.

Worry and doubt went through Sapphire's head as the deathknight took her to her father's bedroom. She did not consider herself recovered from the torture that had been inflicted on her, physical and otherwise. And already, her father wanted her to repay him. She wondered what he was going to demand. The deathknight opened the door for her, and the look on his face was that of amusement. Sapphire's heart thudded loudly in her chest.

Sapphire looked at her father warily as she came into the room. He had been waiting on her, no doubt reveling in the torment he had inflicted on her.

"You owe me quite a bit, my dear."

She expected he would kill her and steal her soul but he did not even have Frostmourne. He came over to her and looked at her critically. He reached up stroked her hair, which caused Sapphire to have a sudden urge to flee and run straight out of Icecrown Citadel. She looked away, at the locked door in the room. She tried to imagine what was in there, but she was afraid to think too hard. She looked back at her father, trembling.

"Are you afraid?" Her father asked. Sapphire nodded, not daring to pretend she wasn't.

"Good. You would be a fool otherwise."

Shaking, Sapphire watched as the Lich King left her, walking over to a chair. He started taking off his gloves. He didn't stop from there, removing all of his armor. When he took off his Helm, white shoulder-length hair fell down. She had only seen his face once, and never had she seen him without his armor. When he was done, he looked less than half his size, wearing nothing but thin, plain clothing. Sapphire could now truly see her father for the first time. The grey skin of his bare arms was pulled taut over thick muscles. No doubt, the rest of his body was similarly muscled. It was unclear which was scarier, seeing the Lich King in full armor, or in just plain clothes. Either way he could kill her with ease.

Sapphire's father turned around, and scrutinized Sapphire. She almost lowered her head and quailed, but she remembered what Faerlina had taught her, and kept her head and back straight. She looked her father in the eye, resisting the terror deep inside her. Her father's lip curled up in a smirk.

"Interesting. If anyone else looked at me like that, I would snap their neck. Do you think I should do the same to you?"

"No," Sapphire said. Her voice shook a bit, but at least she didn't whisper it.

"I should. You are more trouble than you are worth. And I am not entirely sure you are on my side. Your thoughts are hard to decipher, which is aggravating. Would you stand by my side no matter what, or would you betray me like _she_ did?"

"...She?" Sapphire asked fearfully. She expected to be hit, but her father did not even seem angered.

"I might tell you eventually. If I decide not to kill you. But back to my question. Would you ever betray me?"

Sapphire was still confused. Why would she? And who could she possibly betray him to? Maybe a leader of the Horde or Alliance, but why would she do that? The Scourge was all she knew, and she hated the living. Even if she told them how to get into Icecrown Citadel and even gave them the cure to the plague, they would kill her. The Scarlet Crusade was all the evidence she needed of how the living would treat her.

Finally, she said. "No. I would not, Master."

"Because of your own sake, not out of loyalty. However, it is a start. Come here."

Sapphire approached him warily. He reached out and cupped her cheek with his pale, calloused hand. His skin was icy to the touch. He looked at her critically, and Sapphire felt like a rat in a cage. Instead of crushing her skull or hurting her in any other way, her father did the strangest and probably the most horrifying thing he could do. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. Sapphire recoiled, but he gripped the collar around her neck, which instantly turned hot to the touch. Not only was that unexpected, but painful as well. He gripped her waist with his other hand, but Sapphire was not going anywhere.

He kept kissing her, but Sapphire was frozen from shock. It was absolutely terrifying, much different from when Zyperias kissed her. Zyperias had tried to be gentle, and her father was anything but that. Her throat was throbbing as he squeezed it, and the kisses were forceful. The Lich King forcefully took her over to his bed. Sapphire fell onto the sheets, panicked. The collar around her neck grew heavy, and the heat coming from it was almost unbearable.

Her father tore off her clothes, flinging it to the ground. The heat of the collar and cold of the room and of the Lich King was assaulting Sapphire's senses. She flinched when her father kissed her neck, and tried to get away. He had a firm grip on her, and he laughed darkly.

"What's wrong? Are you afraid?"

Sapphire nodded, whimpering.

"Do you know what sex is?"

Sapphire looked up in alarm. "I...guess. Lethumo told me a bit."

"Then I will just have to finish your education."

That caused Sapphire to blink. To her horror, her father took off his clothes. Lethumo had talked about what certain parts of the body were called, which Sapphire had learned from an anatomy book. He had briefly, if graphically, explained what happened in sex, but that was all she knew. Her father loomed over her, fully naked. She was terrified to even look at his penis, but she did. It was huge and as grey as the rest of his body.

The heat left the collar around her neck, and something else replaced it. It was warm, but not painful. Suddenly, her father grabbed her got closer to her. She gasped. Pain and intense cold came down from her groin, and she knew what had happened. She whimpered pitifully. It was an almost stabbing pain, though it quickly went away. Her father pulled her toward him, and she felt him moving back and forth inside of her. There was an indescribable feeling coming over Sapphire, but she didn't know what it was.

Her father didn't care much about her discomfort, thrusting inside her repeatedly. The feeling in Sapphire grew stronger, and she actually felt pleasant. But she wanted him to stop. When he pulled her against his chest, she struggled.

"No, stop!"

She gasped as she was slammed against the bed frame, and pain exploded from the back of her head. After that, she said nothing. As he thrust into her more, Sapphire felt suddenly different. Pleasure filled her, which added to her horror. She felt hot, and when her father pulled her against him, she clung to him.

After a couple of seconds, she gripped the sheets underneath her. Her vision blurred slightly, and her muscles tightened and she gasped as a wash of feeling came over and it felt like she exploded from the inside. She felt like she blacked out for a second, and then her whole body went limp. Sapphire panted from the episode, not noticing her father leaving her until the door slammed shut. She sat up in alarm.

She winced as her abdomen hurt. She looked down, and noticed blood on the sheets. It was quite a lot. Sapphire stood up weakly, and picked up her clothes. With a feeling of guilt and incredulity, Sapphire clothed herself, and left the room. If anyone could comfort her and explain what had happened it would be either Faerlina or Lethumo, so the girl went off to find them.


	24. Chapter 24

Faerlina had been given spacious quarters nearby, and as Sapphire made her way to where she'd been told it was. She went through the Halls of Reflection, feeling a pang of emptiness when she noticed Marwyn wasn't there. Falric was absent as well, but she was kinda glad about that. When she left the main hall, she went off toward the right. There were small spiders scuttling everywhere. A few large ones clung to the ceiling, making delicate webs. A large spider, twice as big as Paz, hissed at her as she approached a set of doors. Sapphire stopped to look at it, and collapsed to the floor sobbing. The spider looked a bit unnerved by that reaction, and backed up a bit. Faerlina came out a couple of seconds later, probably investigating the noise. She looked shocked to see Sapphire on the ground.

"Sapphire? Child, what are you doing here?"

"I...My father..." She could not find the words she wanted to say.

Faerlina helped her to her feet, and took her into her room. Already her spiders had made themselves at home. Webs laced the ceiling, spiders of varying sizes peering down at the two. There were tables full of potions being brewed, and jars full of spiders. Lethumo had been standing in the corner. Sapphire didn't know why he was there, but she was glad. The night elf was shocked to see Sapphire in such a state.

"Kid, what happened? Are you all right?"

Sapphire shook her head. Faerlina moved a bowl of spider eggs from a chair, and sat her down. She looked at Sapphire worriedly.

"Are you injured?"

"I don't know. It hurts down there. And I'm bleeding..."

Lethumo made a face and looked around awkwardly. "Oh. Should I go? Is it that female thing?"

Sapphire shook her head, whimpering.

"Elf, turn around," Faerlina commanded. Lethumo didn't need to be told twice. He turned around and looked intently at the wall. The woman helped Sapphire take off her clothes, and examined her. The woman narrowed her eyes.

"How did this happen...Who did this to you?"

Sapphire couldn't help it, starting to cry. "My father!"

Despite himself, Lethumo turned around. He let out a string of curses. Faerlina wrapped a blanket around the girl, and went over to a table. Lethumo reached out to try to comfort Sapphire, but she flinched. He stopped, pity on his face.

Faerlina brought back a potion, and pressed it into Sapphire's hands.

"Here. It will stop the bleeding."

Sapphire looked down at the glass bottle full of liquid, and didn't drink it. She clutched at the blanket around her.

"Why would he do that?" She asked.

Faerlina and Lethumo exchanged glances. She looked at the two hopefully, wanting some kind of answer.

"We aren't really at liberty to talk about that..." Lethumo said helplessly. He looked miserable, shuffling uncomfortably.

"Did I do something wrong? Did I-"

Grand Widow Faerlina scowled. "No. It's not your fault, Sapphire. It's your father's doing. I don't care if he gets angry with me. That was his doing, not yours."

"But...I made a deal with him. He took away the pain, and I had to give him something in return," Sapphire whimpered pitifully. Tears fell down her face.

"_Arthas_!" Faerlina yelled. She stood up, and opened the door to her room. She looked at Sapphire and Lethumo. The look on her face scared Sapphire.

"Calm Sapphire down. I am going to have a...chat with the Lich King," The woman said in a dark, edgy voice. Sapphire winced when she slammed the door.

Sapphire looked up at Lethumo. "Do you think she'll be okay?"

The night elf stared at the door in stunned silence. Sapphire had to poke him to get his attention, and repeated her question.

Lethumo smiled. "Oh, I'm sure she'll be fine. It's the Lich King who is in trouble."

The girl stood up, determined.

"I want to go listen."

Before she could go two steps, Lethumo grabbed her.

"Are you nuts? He'll kill you for such insolence. I don't want you going anywhere near him."

Sapphire gave him the darkest look she could make. Lethumo laughed nervously.

"Then again...Eavesdropping is fun. Have fun. I need to go check something."

There was a strange noise in his voice, and Sapphire watched him go, leaving her with nothing but spiders as company. She left Faerlina's room and wandered back toward the Halls of Reflection, hoping she might find Faerlina confronting her father.

When she got to the Shadow Throne, Sapphire quickly ducked into the shadows when she heard Faerlina's voice.

"I don't need your approval, woman," Her father's voice echoed, full of anger. Sapphire winced as she felt it through the collar.

"Good. Don't expect me to give it. I will not stand with you treating your daughter like this. I know what you are planning, and I'm fine with it. But raping her? What does that gain you?" Faerlina snapped.

"You seem to have forgotten who is the master here." The Lich King said icily. Sapphire shuddered.

Sapphire edged forward, and looked into the throne room. Her father was sitting on the Shadow Throne. Faerlina was in the middle of the seal, back straight and every muscle tense. In her mind, Sapphire hoped her father didn't hear her thoughts at the moment. But if he did, he would have exposed her. Eavesdropping on the Lich King was probably the worst possible thing to do.

"I know who is in charge, Arthas. But you are going down a dangerous path. What do you want, for Sapphire to hate you? Because treating her like Jaina-"

"Do not mention that name to me. Ever..." The Lich King said slowly, voice coated in venom. Sapphire was gripping the wall painfully with her fingers. Finally, she knew who _she _was. Whoever this Jaina person was. The girl had never heard of her before, but she bet she could find out.

"I will tell Sapphire exactly who she is if you hurt her again like that. And you don't want Sapphire to know that she even has a mother, do you?"

Sapphire could tell her father was enraged. He was seriously contemplating killing her. The girl could feel his anger in her head, and she felt angry herself, though not at Faerlina. She was angry at her father. She had a mother and her name was Jaina.

"That is not relevant to this discussion."

Faerlina laughed. "I think it is. You want Sapphire completely loyal to _you_. If she were to ever meet her mother, which one of you do you think she'll turn to?"

Sapphire wondered about it. How would her mother react to meeting her? Does her mother think she is dead? Would she even be happy to see her daughter alive? The girl knew absolutely nothing about her mother. She could be just like her father, or...worse. She could be a mortal, who would hate Sapphire like any other mortal.

First, Sapphire needed to learn about who this Jaina was. Before her father could listen to her thoughts or notice her, Sapphire slipped away and went back to the room she had been recovering in. Paz and Rot were there. Sapphire weakly laid down onto her bed. Rot licked her face, and laid down on her head.

_Daughter._

The girl sat up in alarm, causing Rot to fall of her head and off the bed with a yip. Paz's multiple eyes watched her worriedly.

_Yes, Master? _She thought meekly, expecting the worst.

_I have a gift for you. Tomorrow, come down to the dungeons._

Sapphire really didn't like the sound of that. _Are you going to torture me?_

_There will be torture, but not inflicted on you.  
_

A bit of resentment went through Sapphire. Despite her fear, she retorted. _And does this "gift" have a price as well?_

Instantly, pain shot through Sapphire's body. She cried out, which caused Rot and Paz to make sounds of distress.

_You would do well to remember who I am. Next time an enemy captures and tortures you, no one will sent to help you. _

Sapphire was still furious at him, and continued to push her luck._ I would rather have my lungs ripped out of my chest than accept your help again._

Instead of pain, she felt amusement coming from her father. She could almost hear him laughing, and was repulsed by it. It took him a moment to reply, his voice light and friendly, which made her even angrier.

_You are finally learning._

He then left her to her own thoughts, no doubt to let her think on what he said.


	25. Chapter 25

"Woof!"

Rot hopped down the stairs, one step at a time. His little tongue hung out of his mouth, and he seemed oblivious to Sapphire's mood. Behind him, she followed rather morosely. She had debated coming down at all, not in the mood to confront her father. Whatever this "gift" was, she probably wasn't going to like it.

Paz had went back to Faerlina for food, and stayed with her for a bit. Lethumo had not come back, and she wondered why he had just left her. As for Zyperias...He did not yet know what had happened to Sapphire, and she wasn't entirely sure how he'd react to it. Sapphire still wasn't sure how to react to it.

The dungeons were silent for the most part. A distant scream, or an occasional moan was all Sapphire heard. She froze for a second, not wanting to be her. She had been in a prison cell and now knew what it felt like. When a woman started begging for help from a nearby cell, Sapphire recoiled back and fell against the wall. Rot barked in alarm, and circled her worriedly.

Sapphire took a deep breath, and sighed. It was fine. She wasn't the one in the cell. It wasn't important on what those mortals endured. She should not care. What were they to her? For all she knew, they deserved it. Most of the prisoners Sapphire saw in the dungeons were soldiers, and tortured for information. They were in a war. It was needed.

When Sapphire kept walking, she saw a sight that surprised her. Falric was leaning against a cell door, and panic came up. Marwyn! He wasn't the one going to be tortured, was he? Anything but that. Marwyn didn't deserve it.

"Hello Brat. I am here to provide you any assistance..."

Sapphire looked at him. "Assistance? For what?"

The deathknight opened the door, and Sapphire looked in. She gasped.

There, chained to the wall, was the man who had tortured her. He was unconscious, and the wound that the knight had inflicted on him had been partially healed, but not like Sapphire's hand which, besides her missing nails, was as it had never had been broken. They seemed to have left it to heal on it's own, which must be painful. The only furniture in the room was a table, which was filled with torture devices. A brazier was lit in the middle of the room.

"Wait, what is this?" Sapphire demanded of Falric. The deathknight smirked.

"Your gift. Take as long as you need. I'm here if you need help. Obviously you don't have the strength to break a leg. You did well enough on the rats though...I'm sure you will do well with this."

Sapphire wanted to slap Falric. She didn't want to torture anyone. Yes, she probably wouldn't mind watching the bastard be tortured, but she doubted she could do the deed herself.

The deathknight was waiting. Sapphire looked back at the man who had tortured her.

"And what if I don't want to torture him?"

Falric scowled. "Then I guess you don't get to see Marwyn. He's been awfully lonely."

Sapphire gasped. "Marwyn? Is he okay?"

The deathknight leaned against the door frame. "He might be. After you're done with this mortal, I will take you too him. Remember...Torture isn't fun unless the blood is dripping from your hands and not a scrap of skin goes unscathed."

He closed the door, leaving Sapphire with the man. She looked down, and saw Rot looking up at her. The dog wagged his tail. Sapphire went over to the table, and perused everything. Rot hopped up onto the table, and jumped onto the scalpels and hooks.

"Stop it Rot...Let me think."

She tried to figure out a way to torture the man, and not directly do it. A rat scuttled past her boots. Rot snarled, and chased after it. Sapphire watched Rot catch it, then kill it by biting it in the neck and shaking it. She was reminded of Falric forcing her to kill those rats. An idea popped him into her head, and she opened the cell door. Falric looked up.

"Done already? You obviously aren't very good at torture, are you?"

The girl frowned. "I haven't even started. Since you offered me help...Could you find me some rats?"

Falric straightened his back, eyeing her suspiciously.

"And what will you use them for?"

"Torture of course. What else?" Sapphire retorted.

"How interesting...Fine, I'll find you some rats. Mind if I watch?" The deathknight asked, smiling.

Sapphire agreed unhappily, and watched the deathknight leave. She hated Falric's bloodthirstiness.

By the time Falric collected enough rats and returned, the torturer regained conscious. The man looked around, blinking frequently.

"Where am I? What's happening?"

Sapphire looked down at the man, trying to muster hate toward him. But she just felt anxious about what she was going to do. Falric was very pleased with the way things were turning out.

"You're in Icecrown Citadel, mortal. This girl, who you tortured, just happens to be the Lich King's daughter. And she has decided on how to punish you..." Falric hissed.

The torturer's eyes widened. He might have been a cruel monster to Sapphire, but as soon as he ended up on the victim side he became pathetic.

"Please, please forgive me! I didn't know who you were, dear lady. Have mercy on me."

Hearing the man beg and plead brought up a dark side Sapphire didn't know she had. She liked hearing the tone of desperation and fear directed toward her. Falric looked at her expectantly. Sapphire strode forward to stand right in front of the man. Sweat ran down the man's brow and there was the smell of urine on him. Sapphire gave him a disgusted look.

"And why would I give you mercy? You tortured me! Falric...Could you help me with this?"

The deathknight smirked. "Of course."

Falric had cleared the table, and now pinned the man to the table. He ripped the man's shirt open. Sapphire opened the cage of rats. Falric had guess her intentions, and gotten a cauldron for her. She picked up the rats, ignoring their squeaking protests. Sapphire realized this was going to be a bit traumatic for the rats, but this was the best idea she could come up with. She put the rats on the man's stomach. He seemed to realize what was happening.

"No! No, please no! I have a wife and children."

Sapphire looked over at Falric, and decided to make up a lie.

"Oh, we know. They are already here. Maybe they will hear your screams."

The man looked at Sapphire in horror.

"No! Not Helen! Not my sons! Please, I'll do anything!" Tears streamed down his face.

Sapphire would have felt bad, but she forced herself to remember how it had felt when he had ripped her nails out, or when he burned her flesh. Falric turned the cauldron upside down and placed it over the man's stomach, trapping the rats inside. Then Sapphire picked up a torch and lit it from the brazier. She then held it against the cauldron.

It took a minute. The man kept sobbing and begging to be let go. Then, he started screaming. Sapphire touched the metal, and whipped her hand back when it burned her finger tips. Blood came oozing out from under the pot, and tiny claws flashed momentarily. He shrieked, writhing about on the table. Falric held down the cauldron.

Sapphire winced as the man kept screeching, but it didn't last long. His struggles grew feeble, and the screams stopped. Falric smiled.

"I think we're done here."

Sapphire threw away the torch, and Falric lifted the cauldron.

Horror and revulsion swept over Sapphire as she quickly looked away from the ruin that was the man's stomach. Rats scattered everywhere, covered in blood and bits of flesh. Sapphire turned away, and instantly threw up. Rot yipped in alarm. Falric scowled.

"Amusing. Clean yourself up, and let's go see Marwyn."

After Sapphire recovered, Falric grabbed her and took her out of the room. Rot followed, a dead rat in his mouth. They went to another cell door, at the end of a hall. Falric unlocked it for her, and Sapphire rushed in.

Marwyn lay in a bed, looking small and pitiful without any armor. All he wore was rags. His hair was black with dried blood. He looked up, and his eyes widened.

"Sapphire?"

Sapphire sprang forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Oh, Marwyn! I've missed you so much," She started sobbing. Marwyn sat up, returning her hug. He kissed her on her cheek, and Sapphire recoiled back for a second, but she quickly calmed down. Marwyn didn't notice.

"Light...I've missed you too, Sapphire! What happened to your hand?" He asked worriedly, taking her left hand in his. Sapphire winced at the sight of her nail less fingers.

"I'm okay. Really. Just an accident. Are you okay? You don't look too badly tortured."

Marwyn shuddered. "No, the Lich King has been mentally torturing me. But I'm all right..."

Sapphire gave him a pitying look. "If only there was someway to help you, Marwyn."

The deathknight smiled weakly, and patted Sapphire gently. "Don't worry about me."

They sat there for a while, talking. Neither one spoke about the horror they had endured. Sapphire had more to talk about, as she spoke of Paz and Tibbles and even about Gluth. Marwyn just listened.

Before Sapphire could talk about the sensitive topics, Falric came in.

"Time to go."

"But I'm not done!" Sapphire protested. Falric said nothing more, grabbing her by her arm and dragging her out. Marwyn just watched sadly.


	26. Chapter 26

When Sapphire returned to Faerlina, the Grand Widow was tending to an egg sac. Paz was alseep on her bed, making this strange rasping noise like snoring. Rot trotted forward, and whined at Faerlina. The woman looked down at him, and reached down. She picked him up. There was a basket full of mushrooms on the table, and the Grand Widow placed him into the basket. Rot sniffed the mushrooms curiously.

"Hmm. I usually hate furred animals...but this puppy isn't too bad. Where have you been Sapphire?"

"Torturing someone," Sapphire said unhappily.

Faerlina gave the girl the basket Rot was in. "Here, do you mind sorting those for me? I heard about that torturer. Did you give him what he deserved?"

While separating deathcaps from harmless oyster mushrooms, Sapphire told her what she'd done, adding how she'd lied to the man about his family. Faerlina shrugged.

"If you are feeling guilty, you need to remember this one thing...That man is not important. Killing one bastard has no real consequence. So what if his wife is now a widow? Maybe she should have thought about that before marrying him."

"I guess. But I liked hearing him beg, and lying to him was...fun," Sapphire said, biting her lip.

"Of course it was. I bet you are already itching to do more, right?" Faerlina asked.

Sapphire did feel like she wanted to do it again. But something inside her told her it was wrong. Faerlina took the oyster mushrooms, and fed them to the Rot-sized spiders hanging out on top of a dresser.

"It's completely natural to like it. Inflicting suffering and misery on others is what mortals do all the time. I'm not sure how far you'll turn however...Will you be someone who just does it for fun, or someone that turns torture into a tool to help you achieve your goals. You don't even have any goals, do you?"

Sapphire shook her head. Faerlina folded her arms, turning thoughtful.

"Perhaps you should think on it. Try to make it reasonable. Becoming your father's successor is a slim hope at best. So...What do you want? You like plaguehounds, but I don't see you training those flea bitten mongrels. That seems a waste. I have a nice proposal. Should there ever come a time that something happens to me, I think you would make a nice replacement after a bit of training. Breeding larger and more venomous spiders, making all kinds of poisons. How does that sound?"

Instantly, Sapphire nodded. "Oh yes, can I?"

"Of course, child...Here. Let me show you how to make a poison using these deathcaps. After that, I'll teach you how to collect egg sacs from particularly vicious spiders."

Sapphire sat down in front of Faerlina, and watched eagerly.

* * *

Sapphire had just finished collecting egg sacs when Lethumo came back. Her hair was covered in webbing, as were her clothes. The spiders had really not wanted to give up their eggs, but Sapphire had only been bitten three times. Faerlina had given her the antidotes for the venom, and let her continue. She had about a dozen silk orbs full of baby spiders.

The reason Sapphire knew that Lethumo was back was when Faerlina had sighed and said, "It's you."

Sapphire looked up and saw Lethumo at the door. The night elf smiled. "Hello, ladies. Faerlina, I brought you something."

Lethumo held up an orc skull, flesh still clinging onto it and an eyeball still in a socket. Faerlina softened up a bit when she took it.

"Oh, why thank you Lethumo! You are sometimes a gentleman."

The night elf puffed out his chest, and leaned against the wall. "I'm always a gentleman, my dear lady. I always let the lady decide who goes on top."

Sapphire looked at him in confusion. "On top of what?"

He ignored that question, and pulled out a rose instead. When the elf handed it to her, she took it. Faerlina narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, I don't get one?"

"Of course you do. Sapphire likes the red ones though. Here is a lovely black rose to match that black soul inside of you," Lethumo said deftly, producing another rose, this one dark as night. Faerlina took it in surprise. She hadn't actually expected him to give her one.

"Where have you been, Lethumo?" Sapphire asked.

"Oh, I felt the need to see a friend of mine. You see...He kinda has the same problem as you."

"Problem?" Sapphire asked.

"Yeah. Only, instead of his father fucking him, it's his brother."

Faerlina dropped the rose. "Lethumo!"

"What? Oh...Did I say a bad word? It's not like Sapphire knows what it means. Sapphire, fucking means-"

"Say that word one more time, and I'll force feed you whole spider eggs. You don't want those hatching inside of you."

Lethumo clamped his mouth shut, and smiled sheepishly.

"Never mind. Anyway, I felt like Sapphire would feel better knowing she isn't the only person who had had that happen to them. I tried to convince Ethan to come with on a little...trip. But the kid is smarter than he looks. If I had gotten him here, he wouldn't have found it pleasant. I think he'd make a great deathknight."

"Sapphire doesn't need a mortal to help her feel better. Besides, what could he say to help her? It's not like it is going to stop."

Sapphire looked at Faerlina in horror. "What do you mean?"

"Your father will do it again. I've deterred him momentarily, but he will do it again. But that collar of yours has one good use. At the end, did you like it?"

Sapphire nodded, nauseous.

"Well, technically that wasn't you. That was your father's feelings affecting you. And that's two sided. He felt your pain. Next time, he won't hurt you as badly as he did."

"I'd prefer there wasn't a next time," Sapphire whimpered.

"At least he didn't kill you like the others. If that's the only thing he does to you, you shouldn't complain. Almost every single female cultist would kill themselves over such an opportunity."

Lethumo laughed. "Including some male cultists, if you know what I'm saying."

Sapphire was horrified at the conversation. "Well, those cultists can have him all they want!"

Before Faerlina could try to console her, Sapphire left the room. She didn't go back to the room she had been recovering in, but back to her old room. She pulled the door open, and sighed in relief as she saw her familiar bed and wooden chest. She opened up the chest, remembering when she was small enough to fit inside of it whenever she heard her father coming. She wished she was that small again.

Around her neck, the collar was cold. Sapphire leaned against the wall, closing her eyes. She felt her father's thoughts distantly. As she sat there, she felt more and more. With surprise, Sapphire knew exactly where her father was. He was above her, somewhere higher up. Sapphire guessed the Frostwing Halls. She had actually been thinking about going there. Or was it her father that had been thinking that, and it had been put into her mind. She felt like she had wanted to play with the baby frostwyrms, but she was so confused.

Now, she didn't want to go anywhere near her father. She sat up, and grabbed her warmest cloak. She had never seen her father just strolling outside, so she left her room and started to head outside.

Tibbles might be out guarding the walls. As she walked, she wondered if she was allowed to talk to him while he was on duty. Surely it would be okay. He's only one gargoyle.

She made it outside, shivering as the strong winds blew around her. She looked around at the gargoyles, realizing Tibbles looked exactly like the others. She didn't know which one he was. None of them had a book clutched in their talons, and when Sapphire got close to one, it snarled at her. Unhappy, Sapphire descended the stairs down to the Court of Bones. She kicked a loose chunk of ice, and looked up at Corp'rethar. She'd never been up on top of the wall. Never looked out to see what lay beyond. She knew what was there of course, the rest of Icecrown. Valleys filled with undead, the Shadow Vault, the other gates. But she had only seen the rest of Icecrown from a map, or from a balcony way up on the Citadel, where cloud and darkness obscured the view.

Sapphire tried to look for a way up onto Corp'rethar, but there were no stairs. It looked like she could try climbing up the mountain to get to it, but one look at the icy rocks told Sapphire she would fall and break her neck if she tried.

Instead, Sapphire sat down on the ice and stayed there. She heard the sharp clack of hooves on ice, and whipped around in alarm expecting a deathknight on a deathcharger.

But there was only a horse standing several yards away from her, looking at the girl curiously. Sapphire smiled.

"Hello there...Are you lost?"

The horse snorted, and took a few steps forward. Sapphire stood up slowly, and reached a hand out. The horse, which was nothing but dried out skin and bones, sniffed her hand. She doubted he could smell anything, but that must just be a habit from when he was alive. Like Rot sometimes lifts his leg up to pee, but of course nothing comes out.

The horse seemed to find her acceptable, and he instantly pushed his bony face against her. She giggled, and pet his desiccated neck. She looked back, and saw that he had...wings? Big, leathery bat wings were tucked next to his sides. Sapphire wondered if he could fly with those. She saw his saddle, and went over to it. There, on the leather, was inscribed the word, _Invincible._

Sapphire looked at the horse. "Oh, is that your name? Invincible?"

_Of course it is. What'd you think my name was? Snuffles? Or Buddy? Ugh...Humans come up with the worst names for animals. _A voice spoke, filled with mirth. Sapphire looked around in alarm. That was clearly not her father's voice, but it felt like it had been inside her head. She looked back at the horse.

"Was...Was that you that just talked?"

The horse snorted again, and tossed his head back._ Obviously. Not the fastest palomino, are you?_

"I usually don't meet talking horses," Sapphire retorted, feeling rather offended.

_That's because most are dumb. So, what's your name?_

"Sapphire."

_Hmm...I guess humans aren't very creative with naming anything. _

Sapphire scowled. "I'm leaving. I didn't come out here to be insulted by a wagon pulling donkey." She started to walk off.

Invincible reared up his head, and trotted after her. He was outraged. _Wagon pulling donkey? How dare you! I have never pulled anything in my life or undeath! I'm Invincible, the Lich King's noble steed and the fastest horse in all of the Scourge!_

Sapphire stopped, and looked back. "Wait...My father's horse? I didn't know he had a horse."

_He...he doesn't talk about me? That's rather rude. You are my master's daughter? Hmph, he talks about you to me. Bit scrawnier than I imagined. Not eating enough hay, I suppose. And rather pale, like a slimy worm...No, no! Don't walk off again! I never get any company besides my master! Hey, want to go on a ride?_

"I have never ridden a horse," Sapphire said, biting her lip. And now that she looked at Invincible, she saw just how huge he was.

_Oh, you poor deprived child! Climb up, I'll give you a ride. All other horses are like cud munching cows compared to me.  
_

Sapphire slowly looked back at the Citadel. She highly doubted her father would be too happy to know she rode his horse without his permission. But even though Invincible was a bit annoying, she felt a bit bad for him. A short ride couldn't possibly hurt. And she didn't want to go back to the Citadel. She noticed with alarm that her father had left the upper part of the Citadel, and was actually getting closer.

"Yes, why not? Let's go on a ride," She said quickly.


	27. Chapter 27

Apparently, getting up onto a horse was harder than it looks. Sapphire kept trying to climb up onto Invincible's back, but she could not pull herself up. Invincible was being very patient, but Sapphire was not making progress. One particular attempt, she got almost got up, but then she slipped and fell onto the ice painfully.

Finally, Invincible decided to give Sapphire some help and laid down. Sapphire situated herself onto the saddle, and the horse stood back up. Suddenly, she was several feet off the ground on the back of an undead horse that didn't seem very sane. She bit her lip.

"Actually, I changed my mind. Let me-"

_Too late, filly! _

Invincible tossed his head, and let out a whinny. He then sprung into a sprint. Sapphire snatched his reins, and dug her feet into the horse's sides. This was nothing like riding a Frostwyrm and clinging to Zyperias or Lethumo. Sapphire had nothing to hold onto except the reins. The horse ran straight out through Corp'rethar, and for the first time, Sapphire could see what lay ahead of her.

Sloping mountains of snow and rock lined the two sides of the valley. The entire ground was made of ice, cracked and rough in some places, and smooth as glass in other sections. And undead were everywhere. Sapphire had never seen so many undead, and was actually a bit nervous they might try to attack her. But Invincible went full speed, his hooves cracking the ice beneath him. He ran past all manners of undead without hesitation.

Riding Invincible was funner than Sapphire had imagined. She wanted him to go faster. His wings were tucked up against his body, and Sapphire wanted him to open them up and fly off.

Invincible didn't, continuing to gallop across the frozen wasteland of Icecrown. He zigzagged past large groups of undead, and once even jumped over an uneven mound of ice. Sapphire enjoyed the feel of the wind in her face and the power in the horse's movement. Sapphire thought it was the greatest feeling in the world, and when Invincible slowed down she was a bit upset.

When he came to a stop, Sapphire tried to get down off of him but fell down into the snow. She heard Invincible whinny in amusement, and her face burned. She stood up and just brushed herself off.

Invincible happily just fell over, and rolled around the snow. Sapphire watched him. She wanted to giggle at the silly horse, but darker thoughts crept in. The brief moment of happiness faded away.

Outside and away from Icecrown Citadel, Sapphire could finally think. Being Grand Widow Faerlina's apprentice would be the greatest thing that had ever happened to her. She wasn't exactly a spider lover, but some of them were kind of cute, like Paz. Sapphire felt she would learn to love spiders. That wasn't the only thing Faerlina did. She developed all kinds of poisons, and trained new cultists. Sapphire was looking forward to learning all kinds of things from Faerlina.

But that was not the only thing she would have to deal with. Sapphire wished for the time when her father ignored her. Why he had changed, Sapphire didn't know. But what she did know is that she was terrified to even see him. Torture would be better than being raped by her own father. Sapphire would gladly have the rest of her nails ripped out of her instead of seeing her father again.

Snowflakes, large and fluffy, floated down around Sapphire. She looked at the mountains around her. An idea came into her head. She was well away from the Citadel. What if she didn't go back? She could just leave. There was nothing to stop her here. Invincible was there, but he was just a horse. Being really calm, Sapphire strode off as the horse rolled around in the snow. She almost got a hundred feet away from Invincible when her father spoke to her.

_Where do you think you're going? _

Sapphire scowled, and tried to pull the saronite collar off. She tried to find a break in the metal, where it could be opened up. But it was nothing but smooth saronite metal, with a few circular holes cut into it.

_Stupid child...Only I can remove that collar. But by all means, wear yourself out trying to get it off._

_Leave me alone!_ Sapphire begged. She desperately clawed at the collar. _  
_

_I'll never leave you alone. Did you honestly think you could just walk off and leave the Scourge?_

_Yes. I don't want this anymore! Let me go. I will never betray a thing to any mortals. In fact, I will stay as far away from them as possible. _Sapphire highly doubted her father would agree to that, but any hope is better than no hope at all. She was disappointed.

_You think that is the reason I keep you? Such delusions are a sign of insanity, my dear.  
_

Sapphire kept walking, even as the snow fell down in larger batches. She hugged herself in a futile attempt to keep warm. The wind tossed her hair back, and chilled her face. She heard Invincible trotting after her, but Sapphire didn't want to deal with him. She looked around, and saw an outcropping of rock. She went toward it, and found a crevice she could slip into.

She crawled into the dark rock, and curled up into a ball. Tears ran down her face, and froze in the frigid air.

_Why me?_ She thought, not directed to her father but to herself. She didn't care if he replied.

She lay in the rock for what seemed like an hour, barely even moving. It was getting colder, and Sapphire was shivering violently. Her limbs were stiff, and her head hurt.

_Does your plans involving freezing to death? I know you feel it already. The faster heartbeats, and your shallow breathing? Stay like that too long, your skin will start to turn blue when your blood retreats further in your body to keep your vital organs warm. You will get numb eventually, and might even feel a brief illusion of warmth just before you die._

Sapphire tried to ignore him. Confused, she tried to cover her ears in an attempt to not hear him.

_Already you are mentally disoriented. Wouldn't you think quickly dying by a sword is better than slowing turning to ice? __Sapphire...Get out of that hole in the rock._

Clutching her head, Sapphire did as he told her. She collapsed into the snow outside, moaning. Her head was throbbing, and she felt like there was a lump of ice in her stomach. She couldn't feel her hands and feet, though she could still move them.

There was a crunch of snow near her head, and she looked up. Her father stood there, looking down at her. His armor and cloak were dusted in snow, and he must have been waiting for a while for her. Invincible stood behind him, looking at Sapphire worriedly.

"Stubbornness will be the death of you, daughter."

"Leave me alone..." Sapphire mumbled.

"I already said I won't ever leave you alone. And you would never leave me. Even if you died here and now. You might as well accept the inevitable if you are to ever be happy. You need me. You will always need me."

Sapphire scowled. "No I don't. I have friends-"

"What friends? They all belong to me, just like you do. I could order any one of them to kill you, and they would. Even that rat of a dog would attack you. All that you have, I can take away."

Tears came back into Sapphire's eyes. He was right. Sapphire was alone. No one to help her, or love her. Even Rot wasn't hers. Sapphire buried her face into her hands. Her sobbing hurt her.

"Do you understand now? You have only one choice, though it might seem you have more. You could die right here. I could kill you myself. Those two options end up the same. You will be dead, and I will raise you to serve me. The last option is take my hand right now, and return to the Citadel. You join me when you're dead, or you join me now."

Sapphire looked up, and saw her father's hand outstretched toward her. She blinked through her tears and sniffled. Taking his hand meant she had no hope. Nothing.

What could she have done anyway? Starved in the middle of the frozen wasteland around her, alone and frightened. She might could have found mortals to help her, but they would have found out what she was eventually. The Scourge was the only place Sapphire would be understood and treated well.

Sapphire forced herself to stand up, trying to ignore the pain. She nearly fell, but her father grabbed her before she could. He let go of her when she could stand by herself, and stood there. He was patient with her, knowing fully well what she had chosen. When she took his hand, Sapphire could have bet her soul that he was smiling under his Helm.


	28. Chapter 28

So...I was going to finish up this chapter the other night, but at one point in the day I had been curious about someone I hadn't heard from in a while. This person was a reader of my fanfics, and used to always review. I didn't know much about her, but we liked talking to each other, but she had not talked to me in several months. So, I was going to PM her, but for some reason I felt the need to look at her profile page. It says she died in a car crash. :'(

* * *

Blood dripped down Sapphire's bare arms as she left the torture chamber, ignoring Falric's knowing look. She had tortured a young human paladin, one who didn't have a high tolerance for pain. Only a little coaxing had led to the paladin release some information. There was a small mountain pass to the north of Wintergarde Keep that the Alliance had been using it to send messengers and scouts without being detected by Scourge or Horde. Until now.

It had been a month since Sapphire had given in to her father and he had given her all sorts of liberties and duties. Sapphire's past excursions, notebooks, and personal experience had made her a decent torturer, and Falric gladly helped her whenever she asked. She loved to lie to the victims and try to be nice to them before she tortured them. Her youth helped her, calming the prisoners before the torture, only adding to their confusion and horror.

When she wasn't learning torture with Falric, Sapphire was learning about poison and spiders from Faerlina. The woman would be going back to Naxxramas soon, and Sapphire was being overwhelmed by all the information she was given. The biology and care of spiders, the deadliest plants and how they reacted to venom and other reagents. Sapphire had started using the poisons she'd learned in her interrogations, gaining respect from Falric. He had become much friendlier to her since she had been learning from him.

Sapphire used that to her advantage, convincing him to let her visit Marwyn more often. He didn't know how much she had changed, because Sapphire lied. She did not want Marwyn to have to deal with that. He was not tortured anymore, and the Lich King was considering letting him back. Telling him what she was doing would set him off, and he will probably never be allowed outside his cell. Lethumo had wanted to take Sapphire out of the Citadel to experience the world, but her father refused and his word is law. So Lethumo just brought her roses, sweet foods like honey and sugary treats, and snowballs.

The Lich King was always watching and listening whenever Sapphire tortured someone, so she didn't need to tell him about the mountain pass. Instead of telling him, Sapphire went straight to Faerlina's quarters.

The Grand Widow was trying to teach Tibbles how to organize her books, which wasn't ending well. Tibbles was confusing the deadly poisons books with the necromancy books. Faerlina nodded to Sapphire, knowing she didn't need to tell the girl what to do. Sapphire fed a few large black widow spiders hunks of meat, and when she opened a chest to find some jars to collect their venom, she was greeted by a million tiny spiders crawling up her arms. The first time an egg had hatched unexpectedly, Sapphire had freaked out, screaming as they crawled into her hair. Faerlina had been able to get them all, and Sapphire had learned to deal with them.

She gently scraped off all the baby spiders from her arms, and put them in the jars Sapphire was going to use to collect the venom from the adults. As soon as she put some dead flies into the jars, the spiders were content to stay in them.

Sapphire felt something rub against her leg, and looked down. Paz chittered at her affectionately. Sapphire rubbed him on his head. The spider had fully abandoned Faerlina for Sapphire, and constantly sought the girl for cockroach treats or leg rubs. Faerlina did not mind. The spider had only a mild venom, and was too nice to kill anything larger than Rot.

There was a knock on the door, and Sapphire tossed a cockroach to Paz. Crunching sounds issued from him as she went to go open the door.

Zyperias stood there, Rot cradled in his arms.

"Hello, sweet blood. I just finished giving Rot a bath," The San'layn said amiably. Rot snorted, licking his freshly cleaned feet. Sapphire smiled.

"Thank you, Zyperias. Come in."

The San'layn entered the room, bowing to Faerlina respectively. He then turned to Sapphire.

"Can I get you anything? Some fresh food, or a glass of wine?" He asked.

"No thank you..."

Sapphire had told him what her father had done to her, and the San'layn had been horrified. Since then, he had gotten even more protective, if that were possible. He would always bring her gifts, from food to , and tell her he will do anything she asks. Which is why he had cleaned Rot. Sapphire had mentioned she needed to do it and without a word, Zyperias snatched up the dog and left. The San'layn had warmed up to the dog, though Rot barely tolerated him. He only liked Zyperias when the San'layn would feed him entrails.

Zyperias placed Rot on a silk pillow he had obtained, and stroked the little dog's head. Rot scowled. The blood elf produced a bone from under his robes, and held it out. The puppy's dead eyes lit up momentarily, and he snatched the bone away.

Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "Are you two friends now?"

"I would think-" Zyperias started, but Rot growled at him. The puppy stood up and hopped off the pillow. He ran off, barking through the obstacle in his mouth. Sapphire shrugged, and went back to her work. She was able to convince the black widow spiders to give up some venom, though she did get a sharp bite from one. Zyperias quickly gave her an antidote. The spider got reprimanded by both Sapphire and Grand Widow Faerlina and it hissed unhappily.

Faerlina looked at the venom Sapphire had collected it. "Looks good. Good job. Why don't you create a poison that causes hallucinations, and can easily be put in a drink without a taste or color?"

"I...I will try," Sapphire promised. It was really hard for her to create a poison without a recipe.

"Good girl. Finish it by this time tomorrow. I will be heading back to Naxxramas afterwards."

Sapphire's heart fell, and she desperately wished to hear anything else but that. Faerlina did not seem that concerned, and turned back to commanding Tibbles. The girl now noticed the gargoyle was packing up the Grand Widow's books, not organizing them.

"Oh...Must you go? I don't want to be alone."

Faerlina sighed, not looking at the girl. "I'm sorry. But I'm done here. The rest of your education can be obtained by studying or experimentation. I am leaving all these spiders for you to tend. You know how to care, train, and breed these spiders. You are exceptional with remembering and duplicating recipes for poisons, and acceptable when making your own. If something were to happen to me, you will learn how to train cultists by someone else. I doubt any cultists would take you seriously right now. You are much too young."

A sudden thought came to Sapphire. "Hey...Why is it all cultists are adults? There are no children."

Zyperias laughed. "Why would children join the Scourge?"

Sapphire bit her lip. "Well, are there not children without parents that you could take and raise them?"

Both Faerlina and Zyperias looked at each other thoughtfully, the woman folding her arms. In the back of her mind, Sapphire could feel her father's interest in what was going on. It took a couple of seconds for the Grand Widow to reply, to which she smiled encouragingly.

Faerlina had a dark look on her face. "Interesting. That would be quite rewarding. An entire generation of cultists raised from birth to know nothing else but the Scourge. Some cultists get cold feet and betray the Scourge. They don't live long afterwards, but it does hurt our efforts. And if the children were raised to be loyal to the Scourge, they could be turned into deathknights that would never betray us. What an excellent idea. I'm sure the Lich King will look into that idea."

_I just might. We can discuss this little idea of yours tonight.  
_

Sapphire knew what he meant by "tonight" and she dreaded it. Her father occasionally ordered her to his room to do whatever he wanted. Luckily, he didn't do it every night, giving Sapphire a couple days in peace. It was never as painful as before, but was still horrifying. She had learned from Faerlina that she felt everything he felt during that time. Of course, the Lich King felt what she felt, which is why he had been gentler after the first time. Gentle was a relative term, but it was better than nothing.

Zyperias saw the look on her face, and guessed what she had been told. To try and comfort her, Zyperias took her by the arm.

"How about we go off on a walk outside? The temperature has risen two degrees today."

Sapphire intertwined her arm with his, and laid her head against him shoulder. "Fine."


	29. Chapter 29

Sapphire woke with a start as she felt anger burn into her. She sleepily flinched, expecting her father to beat her for something she may or may not have done. But a quick glance revealed that the Lich King was not even in the room. The only other being in the room was Rot, who was curled up under the covers and snoring.

Alarm was all Sapphire could feel. Had something happened? Was the Citadel under attack? How? In the back of her mind, she felt her father and knew that he was very far away from her. He had left Icecrown Citadel. Sapphire couldn't remember when he had ever done that, but he must sometimes. The bigger question was why had he left and where was he? Sapphire could feel he was east, but she didn't know how far. And she was not going to ask. He seemed to be in the company of nerubians.

Sapphire rarely even saw nerubians, mostly because Marwyn had told her never to go near them and he had told her where nerubians frequented in the Citadel. She had felt that she should learn more about them since she was dealing with spiders, but she had mentioned it to Faerlina once, and the woman had said that to compare a nerubian to a spider would be like comparing a dragon to a lizard.

As she thought of that, Sapphire missed the Grand Widow. Faerlina had left for Naxxramas days ago, leaving Sapphire to deal with the few spiders she had left, along with other spiders that already resided in Icecrown Citadel. Sapphire made sure they were all fed and take care of. If one of them had a desiccated body in their web that was too old, Sapphire had to cut it down and give it to necromancers to see if there were any usable parts. Faerlina had alos left her the baby spiders to get started whatever projects Sapphire wanted to do, whether breeding for size, viciousness, or different kinds of venom. Sapphire wasn't entirely sure. She wouldn't mind making friendly spiders like Paz, but that wouldn't help the Scourge at all. So for now, Sapphire was just taking care of all the spiders, no plans to breed them yet.

Even her torture lessons were broad and not specific. She liked the mental torment, but Falric was her teacher, and he preferred the physical methods of torture. Zyperias had taken that as an opportunity to bond with Sapphire. He loved tormenting mortals, and so he gladly helped her. He could read the minds of weak mortals, so he told her key information and enjoyed the show. Sapphire occasionally tried the trick she had done to her torturer, telling her victims that she had tortured or was going to torture their spouses or children. It worked on common soldiers and paladins just as well. Falric thought she should dump the spider stuff, and do the torture full time. He suggested she would be great if she dealt with the slaves in the quarries. Sapphire did not like the idea, but to hear Falric actually compliment her made her think about it.

The only one not interested in her future was Lethumo, and his opinion was the only one she wanted. Things between them had not changed since Lethumo had told her how he felt about he. He still teased her in a friendly way, and made no advances. He had taken to drinking more than before, but that was all that had changed. When she tried to ask him what she should do with her life, he just laughed and suggested she become the Lich King, or Queen since she was a girl. The joking tone in his voice told Sapphire he wasn't serious.

Sapphire doubted her father would ever die to leave her free to become Lich Queen. And she didn't even want that in the first place.

As the girl thought of this, she was walking down an empty hallway. Crossing through an intersection, Sapphire didn't see the shadowy figure come up behind her, or raise his arm.

She did feel the cold smack of a snowball against her head. She gasped as the cold bits of snow ran down her neck.

Lethumo came out of the shadows, laughing.

"Got you!"

Sapphire scowled. "That wasn't funny. I'm not in the mood."

"Aw...What's with you, spider girl? Did one of your tarantulas crawl in your hair?" The night elf said in a teasing voice.

"No. He...That is, my father, is out of the Citadel. Do you know why?"

Lethumo pulled out an apple, and handed it to the girl.

"Sure. Come on, let's go see for ourselves."

He grabbed her hand, and took her outside. Soon, Glacier glided down and landed. The frostwyrm greeted Sapphire with a growl, ignoring Lethumo. The undead dragon nuzzled Sapphire with her bony snout. Sapphire smiled, and pet her.

Lethumo scowled. "Okay...Are you done?"

Glacier lifted her head and snarled at the night elf. Lethumo ignored her, and helped her up onto the dragon's back. As soon as he seated himself in front of her, Sapphire wrapped her arms around his waist tightly. With ease, Glacier flung herself up into the sky, beating her wings easily. She flew off over Corp'rethar, and Sapphire got an aerial view of where Invincible had taken her.

Sapphire had secretly been riding the horse, though she suspected her father might know. They weren't long rides, but she had been trying to learn how to get up and off the horse. She could now get up in a somewhat dignified way, but she always fell off when dismounting.

By contrast, Glacier was easier to get up and down on and ride. She had ribs that Sapphire could climb on, and she was a smooth ride. The first time she had ridden Invincible, Sapphire had been lucky. He had made sure she wouldn't fall off, but now the horse took the opportunity to toss her whenever. He was smart enough to do it over snow, so she wouldn't injure herself on the ice, breaking a leg or even her neck.

Hopefully Glacier could catch Sapphire if she fell, not that she would fall. She was clinging to Lethumo like a tick.

It was not that long of a flight. They crossed over Vrykul buildings, which Sapphire looked down at curiously. It was gone in a flash, and they went over a valley. To Sapphire's surprise, there was fighting down on the ground, with mortals fighting against undead.

"Oh no...Lethumo, look. How did mortals get into Icecrown?"

"That's what has made the Master furious. Ah, here's Scourgeholme."

Sapphire saw a cluster of ziggurats and buildings. Nerubians were all over the ground, and there were at least a dozen frostwryms. Glacier roared at one that got too close to her her as she stated to descend.

The frostwyrm landed on hilly rise in Scourgeholme. Sapphire was going to climb down, but Lethumo stopped her.

"Perhaps you should stay on Glacier's back. There is a lot of fighting going on, and the Lich King would kill me quite gruesomely if something were to happen to you. I just figured you would want to see that."

The night elf pointed, and Sapphire saw a cliff face. In the middle of it, a canyon-like ravine ran through it. There were people running out of it, fighting the nerubians that blocked their way. Sapphire watched as the mortals were gradually being pushed back into the ravine.

"How did this happen?" She asked, horrified.

"The mortals are smart. They decided to make their own way into Icecrown."

Sapphire looked at the breach in the rock, worried. If they could get into Icecrown, what did that mean for the Scourge? Would they get all the way to the Citadel?

_Stupid girl. The mortals are not a threat, just a nuisance that has to be dealt with. Now, get back to the Citadel. _

_But-_

_Leave. Now._

* * *

A week later there was more bad news. Sapphire was watching Rot play with a spider she had named Fuzz. It was a furry female spider, which Sapphire believed had a relationship with Paz. Rot had one end of a rope, with Fuzz having the other end. They played tug of war, to which Fuzz won. Rot let out a cacophony of protest.

Sapphire was busy trying to identify the species of baby spiders that Faerlina had left her. There were a few nightweavers, shadow spitters, Frostbite spiders, and even one leech widow. Sapphire wasn't going to name them until they were bigger.

Fuzz rubbed her head against Sapphire's arm, hissing. Sapphire smiled, and gave her a dead cockroach. Rot barked angrily, but quieted when she gave him a cockroach too. Besides the crunching, the room was silent.

She didn't even notice when Zyperias and Lethumo came into the room.

"Sapphire..." Lethumo said quietly.

The girl looked up and saw the grim look on their faces. She put down a jar full of baby nightweavers, and stood up.

"What's wrong?"

Zyperias took a step forward. "My dear. Something has happened. Maybe you should sit down. I regret to inform you that...that Naxxramas has fallen."

It took a moment for the information sink in. Sapphire stared at him, not sure what to say. A desperate hope bloomed inside of her and she didn't want it to die.

"But, Faerlina is okay right? And her spiders?"

"I'm sorry. No, she died and most of the spiders are dead as well. Until we can get their bodies, you will have to take care of the spiders that are left...Grand Widow Sapphire."

Sapphire felt tears welling up in her eyes, but she tried not to cry. If she did, she wouldn't be able to stop.

"Zyperias...Could you get me food for the spiders?"

"Of course. And there is some good news. Gluth survived, if barely."

It was the best news Sapphire had heard all week. The Alliance and Horde had made these "airships" and were causing trouble for her father. He had barely even spoken to Sapphire during the whole week. Things were not going well, if Naxxramas was any sort of indication. When Zyperias left to go get the food, Sapphire slumped against the wall, still refusing to cry.

Lethumo came over, and sat next to her. She heard a popping sound, and looked over to see the night elf had opened a wine bottle. He held it out to her. Sapphire took the bottle and instantly downed a mouthful. Lethumo took his own out.

"Do you want to talk?" He asked quietly.

Sapphire shook her head, drinking some more. They stayed silent until Sapphire finished off her bottle. She then started crying, and fell against Lethumo. The night elf held her as she cried.

"What's happening Lethumo? Are we losing?" She asked with a sob.

"No...We are not. Come on, kid. Let's put you to bed. Trust me, everything will be fine. How about I take you to Dalaran tomorrow?"

Sapphire nodded, sniffling. "Okay."

The night elf picked her up, and carried her to her room. He put her into bed. As he wrapped her up in the blanket, Sapphire looked up at him.

"Lethumo...I love you."

He stopped, and looked at her. His expression was unreadable.

"That's the alcohol talking, honey. But I appreciate the effort."

Sapphire suddenly sat up, and wrapped her arms around him. She then kissed him. The night elf was taken aback. He gently pushed her aside, and smiled.

"I'm not taking advantage of you while drunk. Come back to me when sober and we'll talk. I love you Sapphire. Good night."

The night elf left abruptly, closing the door and leaving Sapphire alone.


	30. Chapter 30

"Gluth!"

Sapphire ran toward the plaguedog, ignoring Zyperias's protests. Gluth was lying on the ground, limp and pitiful. His body was covered in lacerations, and one of his paws was completely severed. Only a few brave necromancers had come to stitch him up. He raised his head to look at Sapphire approaching, but didn't move besides that. The girl knelt down next to him, and placed a hand on an intact patch of flesh. She looked at the pitiful monster, and took out the gift she had found for him. A dead rat.

The plague dog lifted his head again, and spotted the rat. A growl rumbled deeply from his through, and in a second, snatched the rat from Sapphire's hand. She yelped in alarm, expecting him to take off her hand, but he didn't. Instead, her hand was covered in green drool.

"Ew...You're welcome, Gluth."

Gluth growled. Sapphire noticed that his intestines were spilling out onto the floor.

"You poor thing. Do you want some more food? I think you deserve a whole cow."

The plaguedog snarled, and Sapphire looked at Zyperias.

"Could you get him something to eat?" She asked politely.

Zyperias looked aghast at the request. "Why? That mass of fur and metal doesn't need-"

Gluth suddenly stood up despite losing one of his paws. He roared menacingly at the San'layn. To his credit, Zyperias didn't fall back in alarm or run. He looked more irritated than anything.

"Fine. I'll get that thing some food."

"Can it still be moving?" Sapphire asked, hoping she wasn't asking for too much. Zyperias had started walking off, but he gave her a dismissive wave and promised to try.

Gluth snorted, and laid back down. He licked Sapphire with his rotting tongue, and Sapphire tried not to gag. The necromancers were able to reattach his paw. Using slabs of skin, they were able to put back Gluth's intestines and sew him a new stomach. Sapphire let the giant creature lick her some more, while noting to herself to get a bath as soon as possible. Rot came running to them at some point, and both Gluth and the plague puppy sniffed each other. Obviously, Gluth didn't find Rot an appealing morsel and decided not to eat him. Rot seemed offended and started barking at the plaguedog. Gluth ignored him.

Sapphire heard the prisoner sobbing before seeing them, as Zyperias brought a night elf woman into the room. Instantly, Gluth roused himself, and charged at both Zyperias and the prisoner. The San'layn let go of the prisoner and fled toward Sapphire.

A scream rang out as soon as Gluth clamped his mouth onto the woman, and Sapphire winced from the sound of crunching bones. Gluth tore apart the woman, splattering gore and blood all over the floor. Sapphire watched in silent horror as the plaguedog pulled out the dead woman's lungs out, and swallowed them whole.

"Truly fascinating to watch, don't you think?" Zyperias said, smiling. Gluth was now playing with the night elf's head.

"Uh...I guess."

Zyperias heard the hollow tone in the girl's voice, and he took one of her hands gently. Sapphire looked at him in surprise.

"I can tell how much you have changed since you have returned to Icecrown. A lot of things have happened to you and I have been supportive the entire time. But you have been very distant with me, Sapphire. I am on your side you know."

Sapphire scowled. "No, you aren't. You are on my father's side."

The San'layn folded his arms. There was a dark glint in his eyes. "So? Are you trying to say you are not?"

"I...I don't know," Sapphire said. Before he could question her more, Sapphire left the room.

* * *

The spiders were more than Sapphire could handle. There were about sixty arachnids that had survived Naxxramas, and they were mostly the more aggressive breeds that had killed their attackers. They didn't take kindly to the way Sapphire spoke to them, as if they were babies. It was fine for Paz or the actual baby spiders, but the huge adult spiders were used to being ordered around.

It took all of Sapphire's patience, effort, and time to deal with them. Sapphire barely slept for the first few days, though underneath it...something else was happening that made Sapphire not even want to sleep. The Lich King had noticed her lack of sleep, and something forced him to intervene. Not sympathy, but maybe annoyance.

Sapphire had dozed off momentarily, curled up against a leech stalker. When a hand touched her shoulder, the girl wasn't even that alarmed. She looked at the older woman sleepily. She looked very familiar.

A girl, older than Sapphire, scowled darkly at her. Sapphire recognized her as well, and suddenly remembered. She smiled.

"Nicci! Lily!"

Lily sneered. "Oh, she remembers our names. I'm so impressed."

Nicci knelt down in front of Sapphire. She looked much older than Sapphire remembered, but that had been years ago. Sapphire didn't even protest to have the woman hug her, and the girl even returned it.

"Oh, I've missed you so much, sweetheart," Nicci said into her ear. Sapphire smiled. There was a noise of disgust from Lily.

Sapphire let go of the woman, and looked at the both of them. "I missed you too. What are you two doing here?"

Nicci smiled. "The Lich King ordered us to come and help you. I hear you have taken over charge of Grand Widow Faerlina's spiders?"

The sound of Faerlina's name made Sapphire's smile fade away. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, so she looked down.

"Yeah..."

"We're hear to help you, as are these two cultists and...Well, you know him." Nicci said happily. She gestured, and Sapphire saw a female night elf and female tauren, as well as a deathknight that Sapphire knew instantly. She hopped up, and ran over to him.

Marwyn held out his arms, and grunted when Sapphire slammed into him. She hugged him tightly, and refused to let go until Marwyn pried her off. He was laughing.

"Hey, Sapphire. Bet you weren't expecting me."

Sapphire shook her head, and hugged him again. She heard Marwyn make an amused snort. Lily cut the reunion short, and pulled Sapphire away. The deathknight scowled at the young girl. Lily ignored him.

"Okay, we are here to help you take care of the stupid spiders-"

Nearby, Fuzz roused herself and promptly hissed at Lily. Sapphire went over to the spider and comforted her.

"First off...Don't call them stupid or any other insult, unless you want to be writhing on the ground as their venom slowly or quickly kills you, depending on what spider you annoy," Sapphire reprimanded. Lily rolled her eyes, but a look from Nicci stopped the girl from saying anything else.

After that, Sapphire tried to teach them what Faerlina had told her. She told them to avoid the nightstalkers, black widows, and all the other aggressive spiders, leaving them for her to take care of. Sapphire didn't bother learning the other cultists' names. She taught them how to collect venom, and how to care for the baby spiders, keeping them relatively warm and feeding them frequently. The large spiders did not need to be fed as much, but they did need tending to. They liked chewing on bones and making webs, and of course mating.

The cultists learned quickly. Marwyn was even all right, though he was more interested in taking care of the babies than the adults. Sapphire let him take charge over the babies. As soon as she told them all they needed to know right away, She left them to go to bed.

She reflexively headed to her father's bedroom. It was only when she put a hand on the doorknob that Marwyn caught up with her.

"Sapphire! What are you doing?" The deathknight asked in confusion. Sapphire stared at him.

"Oh. Uh...I'm so tired, I didn't know what room was mine."

Marwyn gave her a faint smile, and took her by the arm. "Here, let me help."

He took her to her room, and took her to her bed. When she laid down, he pulled the blanket over her and sat down next to the bed.

"I'm about to go and guard Frostmourne, but I just wanted to say that I will always love you though I can't say it often."

Sapphire hoped he wouldn't get in trouble for saying that. She wondered how the deathknight had been tortured. He hadn't told her anything, only that it was not as bad as being away from her. Secretly she wished she could tell him all that had happened to her, but he would be outraged and that would not help the situation.

As Sapphire tried to fall asleep, her heart thundered in her chest and it was hard to breath. Something terrifying had been happening to Sapphire the few times she had slept. Nightmares plagued her. She dreamed of being a deathknight, saronite armor drenched in blood. In her hand was always Frostmourne. She would use it to raise up undead, both real kinds and horrible monstrosities not yet created, and also she would kill people, from soldiers to innocent children.

And there was something worse. She _enjoyed_ it. And it was one thing that she enjoyed in the dream, but whenever she saw Frostmourne even when she was awake, either on its pedestal or in her father's hands, she wanted to just take it. Whenever she knew her father wasn't listening in on her thoughts, she made plans on how to take it without his knowing. It wouldn't be that bad. She would take it and use it on a prisoner or slave, then quickly return it. No harm done. Except that her father would kill her for such arrogance. Even if she couldn't actually use Frostmourne, she at least wanted to touch it.

Those ideas truly scared her and that was one reason she wouldn't sleep. But she was exhausted and now as she slowly faded into sleep, she felt Frostmourne calling her.

_Wisps of smoke billowed up from the village below her. The snow capped mountains surrounded the little cluster of houses, much like Sapphire and her army did. Without saying a word out loud, Sapphire commanded the horde of undead to destroy the village. There was a loud uproar as ghouls and geists cried out in elation. They sprinted toward the village, even as deathknights spurred their deathchargers after them._

_Screams soon rang from the houses. Men tried to fight off the undead, but were ripped apart easily. As Sapphire watched, a fire broke out in one home, and quickly spread to another. Finally, Sapphire strode into the village. She killed a begging woman, decapitating her with one swing of Frostmourne. Blood coated the blade as she killed another, this one an elderly man. She did not discriminate, even killing a little boy that desperately came at her with a knife. Sapphire walked into a house, kicking aside the body of the owners.  
_

_Something caught her eye, and she looked over at the wall. There was a mirror. Sapphire approached it, and saw herself. Her armor was identical to her father's though much smaller. Frostmourne was in her armored fist, dripping blood. Sapphire looked up and beheld her face.  
_

_Her skin was dead grey, and her eyes were glowing bright blue. There were bags under her eyes from no sleep, and snow white hair cascaded down to her shoulders. She looked like her father._

Sapphire woke up screaming. She looked around and scrambled over to the small mirror she had. She looked at her reflection, and sighed in relief. Then, she saw something. She reached up, and pulled out a strand of hair that was hidden by her other hairs. Instead of being the shade of pale gold like it was supposed to be, it was white. As white as snow.

The mirror fell from her limp grasp, and shattered on the saronite floor.


	31. Chapter 31

No one knew what was happening to Sapphire in the beginning. She had cut off the hair that had turned white, and when other strands started changing, she cut them as well. But she couldn't cut off all of her hair, and soon the white was noticeable. No one said anything, but she had noticed Lethumo speaking in hushed tones to Marwyn, quieting whenever Sapphire drew near.

The cultists that helped her with the spiders did not speak of it, though Nicci occasionally gasped at her worriedly. Lily probably didn't care about her one 's mood just grew darker and darker, and the nightmares did not help. Paz, Rot, and Tibbles could all sense her despair, and tried to help her. Paz loved on her and presented her with dead rats as gifts. Rot stayed with her at all time, licking her in the face and attempting humorous stunts in order to cheer her up. When Tibbles wasn't guarding the Citadel, he came and read for her. A few books had been scavenged from Naxxramas, and the gargoyle gleefully perused them.

None of this helped Sapphire. Even the joy of hanging out with a free Marwyn did not comfort the girl. She turned irritable, and snapped at harmless comments. Sapphire told Zyperias to go drink holy water after he asked her if she was sleeping all right. He didn't come see her since that. The girl had been treating him badly ever since returning to the Citadel, and he had decided it was enough. Sapphire found a letter in her room from Zyperias. He said that he would wait until she felt better to visit her again. Sapphire felt rather empty when she read it, not really caring if he came to visit. She wanted nothing to do with him, or anyone for that matter. All she wanted to do was be alone, but she could never do that.

She knew there was only one person she could talk to about her problems. Feeling her fear clawing its way up, Sapphire practically ran to where she knew her father was at. He was sitting on the Shadow Throne, no doubt mentally ordering around the entire Scourge. At least Frostmourne was Sapphire worked up the courage to stand up straight and walk toward him confidently. But he noticed her before she could try.

"Ah. My daughter has come to me, rather than the other way around. To what do I owe the pleasure?" He said, not even looking at her.

Sapphire left the shadows, forcing her head to stay up. She did not want to cower in front of her father.

"I...I have two questions," Sapphire tried to say forcefully, but it came out more like a whimper. She dug her fingers into her arm, and looked down at the floor.

"Two questions? Is that all? I expected more...Very well. What is it? Do you want to know what is happening to you?"

Sapphire looked up in surprise, blinking. The Lich King seemed amused.

"Yes. I know of your nightmares, your anger and frustration. It has caused you a great deal of distress, has it not?" He asked coldly. Sapphire quickly took a step back when her father stood up. But he paid her no mind. Instead, he left the throne room. Sapphire followed him.

"That collar is the reason for all your issues. Marwyn refused to teach you how to be Scourge, Falric was too aggressive with you. Faerlina did a decent job. but I'm just finishing your transition. Do you have the sudden urge to kill? Can you feel your blood turning cold and sluggish? Don't worry...You won't die, at least not yet."

Sapphire could feel it now, her insides feeling strange, like the one time she had eaten snow. Confusion wracked her mind. Her father stopped walking, and Sapphire saw they were at Sword's Rest. Sapphire didn't look at Frostmourne, though she really wanted to.

"You said you had two questions. What is the other?"

Sapphire knew this was coming. She had rejected it the moment she had said it.

"Who is my mother?" She asked, her voice breaking in fear.

The room grew colder, as if the very air had turned to ice and Sapphire flinched at the rage that came from her father.

"You have no mother."

Sapphire, not thinking, blurted out. "Yes I do. Her name is Jaina-"

Her throat burned, and she couldn't finish talking. In fact, she couldn't breathe. She reached up, expecting the collar to be choking her, but it was as loose on her neck as always. Pain bloomed from her lungs as they demanded air. Sapphire fell to her knees and desperately tried to breathe in some air.

_Where did you hear that name? _Her father demanded in her mind, each word sending excruciating pain through Sapphire.

_Faerlina said it when she was talking to you! _Sapphire cried out, not even bothering to lie. Her vision grew blurry as she was still starved of air.

Her father finally noticed, and released her from whatever was choking her. Sapphire gasped and started coughing as air rush down into her lungs. She took several deep breaths, relief spreading throughout her body. The Lich King waited for her coughing to subside.

"Give me a reason I shouldn't kill you for eavesdropping," He snarled.

Sapphire looked up at him. "Because it was your own fault. Why? Why wasn't I allowed to know I had a mother?"

"You want to know why? Jaina Proudmoore betrayed me. She also hid her pregnancy from me, and when you were born she left you. If Falric had not found you, you would have died eventually."

Sapphire went over to the wall, and leaned against it. Her mother had just left her to die? Why? What could make someone just decide to abandon their child? Had she been ashamed to have had a child by the Lich King. Who was her mother anyway, a cultist?

"Where's my mother now?" Sapphire whispered softly, knowing her father could hear here.

Her father made a noise of derision. "Currently, she's in Dalaran."

Sapphire hugged herself, ideas running through her head. She thought about going out and meeting her mother or even killing her. Mostly, she just wanted to know what her mother looked like and who she really was. Reluctantly, Sapphire asked these inquiries to her father.

"She is a mage...And you look just like her," He said in disgust, before taking Frostmourne from it's pedestal. He strode off without another word. Sapphire stayed where she was, still bewildered.

She didn't notice Gluth until he dropped half of a bloody lung in front of her, the organ smacking wetly on the floor. Sapphire looked up at the plaguedog.

A tongue across her face was Gluth's way of saying hello. Sapphire made a noise of disgust, and started wiping the profuse amount of saliva on her face.

"Hello, Gluth. Please stop licking me."

The plaguedog roared, and Sapphire cowered.

"Okay! Okay, you can lick me whenever!" The girl snapped. Gluth's mangy tail wagged. He licked her again, and looked down at the lung. He swallowed it whole, and looked over at Sapphire expectantly. He was hungry.

* * *

The next few days, Sapphire kept hearing news about the war. Even though the Horde and Alliance had broken into Icecrown, the news did not worry Sapphire as much as it had before. Nothing changed in the Citadel, so it sometimes felt it was on the other side of Northrend.

Some tidbits of information seemed too strange to be real. The Horde and Alliance have flying ships which they use to harass the Scourge from the air. That they were killing off tons of undead, which shouldn't be possible. Sapphire heard names of people that she didn't know. Tirion Fordring was the one spoken of with fear from the lesser undead. He was a powerful paladin with a weapon that supposedly could rival Frostmourne. Not only that, but the deathknights from Acherus, the Knights of the Ebon Blade, were in Icecrown too. They, like Sapphire's mother, had betrayed the Lich King.

After the last conversation he had with Sapphire, her father seemed too busy to even pay attention to her, to her benefit. Not only that, but with the living invading into Icecrown, he seemed more interesting in killing them than to see what his daughter was up to.

The topic of Sapphire's mother was a confusing one. To bring it up again to her father would be most likely be a death sentence, so Sapphire interrogated undead about Dalaran and mages. She finally got a bit of information off a ghoul, who actually used to be a mage of Dalaran. He told her the history of Dalaran, including her father's involvement...which confused Sapphire.

She didn't remember any of her history lessons saying that the Lich King siding with a demon named Archimonde. In fact, she had never heard a lot about demons in the first place. The way the ghoul spoke of them, it sounded like at one point the Scourge had been ruled by them. But the Lich King, her father, had always been in charge, hadn't he?

The undead mage ghoul did not say anything about Sapphire's mother, which frustrated Sapphire. She desperately wanted to know something, even if just what her mother's favorite color was.

So, she formed a plan, something that would fail if her father had been paying attention to her.

She convinced Lethumo to take her to Dalaran, for some food and roses. The night elf had been hesitant at first, but Sapphire manipulated him like one of the many wretches she had tortured. She implied that the only thing she wanted was to spend a day alone with him. It worked, for Lethumo gladly called for Glacier, and they flew off toward Dalaran.


	32. Chapter 32

I got an eclectus parrot for my birthday a couple days ago. :D His name is Cody, and already my dog is jealous.

* * *

It was relatively easy to get away from Lethumo. She convinced him to go get some wine while Sapphire enjoyed the sights of Dalaran. He left enthusiastically, and Sapphire looked at the buildings with revulsion. Everything was bright and nauseating. It was noisy too, as people walked by Sapphire, talking to each other.

Looking at them all, Sapphire felt a rush of superiority. Horde, Alliance, or neither, they were like insects to Sapphire as she went off to look for her mother. Sapphire really didn't care about race. Anyone with a heartbeat and hatred of undead didn't even deserve Sapphire's notice.

Sapphire took the time to deal with a stupid mage, asking the blood elf where she might find Jaina Proudmoore. The mage told her the woman was at the Violet Citadel and where it was. He didn't even know that Sapphire was Scourge. The girl was wearing dark, fur lined clothing like she always did, but they had no markings or symbols that implied she was anything but a plain human girl. The collar around her neck was hidden by fur.

It was simple to get into Violet Citadel, as Sapphire just walked through the door. She looked around at the high ceilings, bookshelves full of books, and mages dressed in resplendent robes going about their business. The girl was actually impressed, gaping at the sights. She pulled herself together after a few minutes, and again asked for Jaina Proudmoore.

When Sapphire got to the room where her mother was supposedly at, her nerve failed her. She stared at the door with a bit of fear. What if her mother would be so angry at seeing the child she abandoned that she would decide to kill her? Sapphire had found a discarded saronite dagger and put a rather harmless poison onto it, then hid it under her cloak. The poison wouldn't kill, but it would incapacitate the person. But Jaina Proudmoore was a mage, and could kill Sapphire without her even getting close.

Finally, after a few deep breaths, Sapphire knocked on the door. When the door opened, Sapphire felt like running away.

The woman who opened it was like an older version of Sapphire. Their hair was similar in color, though Sapphire's was now streaked with white. But their eye color was the exact same. Jaina was not as thin or pale as Sapphire. The woman wore purple robes and, of course, she was living.

Sapphire gulped. "Are you Jaina Proudmoore?"

The woman smiled warmly, making Sapphire uncomfortable. "Yes. Do you need something?"

The girl was terrified. She wasn't sure whether she should run and never think about her mother again, or just gamble. Driven by an impulse, Sapphire reached a decision. She kept her dagger behind her back.

"Hi. My name is Sapphire...Menethil. And I'm pretty sure you're my mother."

The woman's demeanor changed. She stopped smiling, and her eyes widened.

"No, that's impossible. I was told years ago that you had disappeared from the orphanage. I thought you were dead!"

Then, the woman reached out and hugged Sapphire. The girl was so shocked, she dropped her dagger.

"You are happy to see me?" Sapphire asked, bewildered.

The woman released her, and gave her another smile. "Of course I am. Here, come in."

Sapphire quickly picked up the dagger when the woman looked away and hid it back under her cloak. Cautiously, Sapphire entered the room. It was rather plain compared to everything outside. There was a large bed at one end of the room and the other end had bookshelves and a desk. There was a small table with two chairs tucked in a corner. A window looked out over the city.

And books, everywhere. The desk was a mess of books and paper. A few books were on the floor, and the small table seemed to groan under the weight of four enormous, leatherbound books.

"Excuse the mess. I've been too busy to clean up," Jaina Proudmoore said. With a word and a flick of the wrist, the books all jumped off the desk, floor, and table and flew to the bookshelves. Sapphire jumped in alarm. She looked at the books suspiciously, as if expecting them to go flying off again.

Sapphire watched her mother like she would one of her more irritable spiders, looking for some sign of aggression or trickery.

"You must be so confused as to why I had to give you up and why I never went looking for you," Jaina Proudmoore said, giving Sapphire a look of pity.

"Yeah, I am," Sapphire said, anger in her voice.

Jaina sat down at the table, and gestured for Sapphire to join her. The girl sat down reluctantly.

"I just want you to know...It wasn't because I didn't love you. But I knew I couldn't keep you. So I sent you to the orphanage in Stormwind, hoping that someone would adopt you. But then you were stolen in the middle of the night."

Sapphire tilted her head. "But I was told you just abandoned me. Left me to die."

Jaina looked shocked. "Who would tell you such a thing?"

"My father."

Silence dominated the room. Sapphire's mother paled and her hands clenched up. It felt like the air had dropped a few degrees. Scared, Sapphire quickly reached out with her mind to see if her father had discovered her whereabouts. He had not. Sapphire could see that he was with a bunch of deathknights, giving them orders.

"What...What are you talking about? You have spoken with your father?"

Sapphire had a dark pleasure in telling her mother something that would probably terrify her.

"Yes. I was raised by him."

She had never seen someone so horrified like her mother was. Even the people Sapphire tortured and killed did not look like her mother was at that moment. Sapphire had said a bit of a lie. Her father had not really raised her, Marwyn had. But she didn't bother clarifying to her mother.

It took a while for Jaina to speak, her voice full of pain.

"How could that happen? He never knew of you...Oh, Light."

Sapphire wondered if her mother deserved some kind of pity. The girl did feel something. Her mother's account was very different than what her father had said. And her mother was kind, kinder than she had imagined. Saying nothing, Sapphire sat there.

Jaina stood up, and went over to the window, arms folded. She looked back at Sapphire.

"And why have you come to me?" She asked softly.

Sapphire stared at her. "I wanted to know what my mother was like, and try to figure out why she left me alone and betrayed my father."

That caused a negative reaction.

"Is that what he told you? That I betrayed him? I didn't. He betrayed his country. He killed an entire city full of people because some were infected with the plague."

Sapphire scowled. "What? Why would the Lich King kill his future subjects?"

If Jaina had been expecting Sapphire to defend her father, she had certainly not expected that answer.

"You don't know, do you?" Jaina whispered, incredulous.

"Know what?"

Jaina came over to her daughter. The mage didn't seem that concerned about Sapphire attacked her, which made Sapphire think she wasn't the smartest.

"Don't you know that your father was not always the Lich King? He used to be the Prince of Lordaeron and a paladin."

Sapphire stood up, horrified. She spat out angrily, "No! My father is the Lich King and always has been. He would never have been a paladin...a mortal!"

"Sapphire-" Jaina started, but Sapphire fled the room. She ran out of the Violet Citadel and into a small park, full of trees. Sapphire collapsed to the ground, which was covered in strange green fur. Tears fell from her eyes.

She didn't know who to believe. Her father who was cruel to her or her mother who had left her and never looked for her.

Something bright yellow caught Sapphire's attention, and she looked over to it. Coming up from the ground was a flower. Sapphire knew what flowers were because some were used in potions and poisons, but she had never seen where they came from. This flower was one she had never seen before, the petals thin and fragile. When she pulled it, the stem broke of, and she examined it. The smell coming off of the flower was nothing like how deathbloom or other poisonous flowers smelled. It was subtle, and rather pleasant. The small flower calmed Sapphire down.

Lethumo found her and ran toward her.

"What do you think you were doing, going off without telling me...What's wrong?" He saw her tear stained face.

"I don't know who is right, my mother or father."

Lethumo stared at her. "You tricked me, didn't you? You wanted to sneak off and find your mother. What happened?"

"She told me...She said things about my father. Is it true? Was my father a mortal once?"

The night elf smiled. "Well. I mean...It's understandable to assume that, but you also have to think about-"

Sapphire glared at him. Lethumo sighed.

"Yes."

"And did he used to be a paladin, of all things?" Sapphire said, not once breaking her glare. The night elf fidgeted before sighing again.

"Yes..."

"Why did he lie? Why?

"I can't tell you that, sweetheart. You'd have to ask him," Lethumo said sadly.

Sapphire shook her head. "I don't want to ask him. I don't want to ever see him again."

She should never had said that. The voice that came into her mind was very familiar. _Really? You should really stop thinking that way. The only way you could stop seeing me is if you plucked your eyes out. Not only have you tried to escape me again, which is impossible, but you have gone to consort with your mother. What punishment do you think you deserve? Ripping out all of the bones in your body seems fair._

_Leave me alone, you liar._

She felt like she had just been stabbed in the stomach, and she cried out in pain. Sapphire writhed as her father tortured her. Her father mentally growled at her.

_I know you are intelligent, but you certainly aren't wise. Now come back home._

_No._ Sapphire growled mentally. That made her father furious. Throughout her body, Sapphire's veins felt like they were full of boiling water and she tried to scream. She felt Lethumo cover up her mouth with his hand and drag her away, taking her out of the open.

_No? And where will you go? We've already established that you have no where else to go. Come back home and I might be lenient with you._

_I won't come back home. You hurt me, lie to me, and treat me badly. My mother seemed very welcoming and I-_

_Her? You would go to her? Yes, she might treat you kindly at first but you are my child. Nothing but my shadow. She'll eventually only see me in you, both in your appearance and personality. And you would have to give up all that you know for a slim chance of being "normal". No plaguehounds, no gargoyles, no spiders, no poison. What would you do...become a mage? Conjure up cookies and turn squirrels into sheep?  
_

_Maybe... _Sapphire thought weakly. She wanted desperately to defy her father, but to do so would mean giving up everything. Her friends, even if they were her father's slaves, were in the Scourge. Rot wouldn't be her pet. She couldn't take care of spiders, and Gluth would probably try to eat her mother. No, not even Lethumo could stay friends with her. To leave would mean she would be alone.

_I can see your doubts. Eventually the world will fall before me. Your mother will be my slave. And you belong with the Scourge. You belong with me.  
_

A strange emotion came from her father to Sapphire, one that she couldn't discern. his voice softened, though it was minuscule. It went from hard as saronite, to hard as cobalt.

Sapphire wondered whether it was sincere or not. But if he really didn't care, why would he go to so much trouble to coax her back. He could order Lethumo to just drag her back to Icecrown. It was because he wanted her on his side, completely. What the reason for that was, Sapphire did not really care. The choice was clear.

Lethumo retrieved Glacier, and the two of them headed back to Icecrown.


	33. Chapter 33

Rot scratched at Sapphire's face, waking up from the nightmare she had been having. The girl sleepily pushed him away, and covered herself with her blanket. However, Rot was persistent and he found a way under the covers. He crawled over to Sapphire's face to lick her profusely. Sapphire just grabbed Rot and hugged him. The puppy struggled in her grip, whining in protest.

Sapphire leaned forward and kissed him on the head. Rot stopped struggling, and snorted. He went limp in Sapphire's arms, supposedly in defeat. Sapphire loosened her grip, and Rot sprung forward. His little tongue ran over Sapphire's face.

"Oh Rot...Why?"

The dog answered with another lick. His bony tail smacked against her shoulder. Sapphire kissed him again, and scratched his remaining hear. Rot rolled around onto his belly expectantly.

Sapphire lay there in the bed, not daring to move. The nightmares had been tormenting her since she had returned, plaguing Sapphire with visions of her killing people she knew. She had slit Lethumo's throat, stabbed Marwyn in the heart, and crushed Rot's skull with her boot. It all felt so real that Sapphire was glad that Rot had woken her up so soon. Seeing him perfectly fine was the only minor relief.

That was not the only terror she had to live through. Her father was keeping her on a tight lease. When not dealing with her spiders, Sapphire had to stay with her father or she would be in unbearable pain. She was forced to spend every day and night with him. At least she was permitted to see her friends.

Rot licked Sapphire again. She grabbed him before he could do it again, and dropped him to the ground. Rot was annoyed. He twirled around in a circle and stood up on his hind legs, scratching at the bed with his front paws. He whined, and repeated the twirl and scratching. Sapphire watched him dispassionately. Then, Rot left her and went over to the desk, which was where her father was. Sapphire froze.

Rot barked at the Lich King, who was reading some papers. The puppy scratched at his boots, but Sapphire's father just looked at Rot and the puppy decided he'd rather hide under the bed than be on top of it. His tail poked out from the bed.

Reaching down, Sapphire grabbed the dog and pulled him out. Rot nipped her unhappily, looking at the Lich King worriedly. Sapphire stood up, and left the room with Rot in her arms. Her father didn't bother her, knowing fully well where she was headed.

Sapphire ate in a corner of the kitchen. She tore into a slice of fresh bread, a rarity in Icecrown. A bit of unknown meat was also a part of her breakfast. It wasn't the best breakfast she had ever eaten, but it was far from the worst. Even though she didn't get anything from Zyperias anymore, Lethumo had given her several apples. She had carefully hidden them and would only eat them if no one was around to see.

Two cultists were chatting in the kitchen, unaware of the girl hiding in the shadows nearby.

The Lich King finished reading whatever he had been, and she could see that he was going down into the dungeons. Waiting for the pain to come was almost as bad as the pain itself. Sapphire was about to stand up and follow her father, but the pain didn't come. She blinked in confusion.

He was ignoring her? What if she tried to leave again? Not that she would. She had already decided he was right. There wasn't anywhere to go. She had actually felt a bit happier knowing she couldn't do anything, like her father had said. Of course, she never thought that, lest her father hear her and gloat.

But she was curious about what he was doing. She rarely actually looked at his thoughts, for good reason. It was bad enough to feel homicidal and terrified while she was asleep. To willingly submit to that was horrifying. Sapphire waited a while to see where he was going, then headed toward him. She knew where he was as he should know where she was. What confused her more was that cell was supposedly empty.

She slowly went into the dungeon and approached the cell her father was in. She hesitated, wondering if she could enter. He usually made her follow him everywhere, but the fact that he was being secretive made Sapphire wonder if she would get in trouble for it.

No sound came from the cell, but that didn't mean he couldn't be torturing someone in there. If he didn't want anyone to know, he could use magic to make the room soundproof, inside or out.

It took a while for Sapphire to work up the courage to even try opening the door. It was probably locked, but that didn't deter Sapphire. She reached out. Just as she touched the door, it opened. Sapphire shrank back at the sight of her father, expecting pain or yelling. Her father just looked down at her impassively.

"Why are you skulking at doors?" He asked, not harshly.

"I was...just curious about what you were doing," Sapphire stammered, expecting punishment of some sort. But her father did not mistreat her. Instead, he just chuckled darkly.

"Just dealing with dear Bolvar Fordragon."

Sapphire had no idea who that was, and said nothing about it. "Dealing with" meant torture. Like those she had dealt with, Sapphire felt no pity toward this Bolvar Fordragon. It was not her concern. The fact that her father was doing it himself was mildly interesting though. He rarely did, and whoever was unlucky to grab his interest didn't last long.

Her father noticed her indifference.

"So, you aren't interested in who this person might be?" He asked, amused.

"If you thought I should you, you would have told me," Sapphire responded. And he would have. Her father had been very open with her recently. He seemed confident she would never leave him again, despite the lies he told. Sapphire had not yet asked about that. She wanted to know more about how her father became the Lich King. But he would not tell her. And it was easier not to know, she thought.

Her father never offered the information willingly. Even the fact that her father used to be a paladin couldn't change the facts of where she belonged.

"Uh...How goes the war?" Sapphire asked, changing the subject.

Her father seemed only mildly surprised at the question.

"Why so curious? Are you afraid the Scourge shall fall?"

Sapphire shook her head. "No, sir. I just wanted to know."

"It is going well, my dear daughter. It seems the mortals have made a temporary and fragile truce to organize a...tournament. They wish to find the best of them to assault the Citadel itself. That will only help me when I kill them and raise them to crush their old allies."

He said it in amusement, and Sapphire felt the glee he was feeling at the prospect. The stupid mortals wouldn't know what hit them. The absolute confidence in his voice comforted Sapphire. She followed her father away from the dungeons, where he left her to go take care of her spiders.

The babies had gotten much bigger, almost the size of Rot. They were starting to learn that they were supposed to be vicious and deadly, and now Sapphire had to wear gloves around around. A few actually now looked like Maexxna, and Sapphire could only guess that they might be her offspring. One gave Marwyn a particularily painful bite, but the venom didn't affect him. Right now, the deathknight was back at his usually place at Sword's Rest, where he might be playing a game with Falric. She hadn't seen them together so she wasn't sure if they were friends again or not.

Sapphire named that one Maexxna the second, and fed her the best bugs and bits of flesh. It made Paz jealous. However, he refused to go near the baby and Sapphire assumed the baby scared the friendly adult spider.

A frostbite spider was acting lethargic, so Sapphire had to deal with that, perusing books of arachnid illnesses. She was not positive, but she hadn't seen the spider drinking a lot, and she guessed he might be dehydrated. So she sat next to him, holding a bowl of water. The spider drank from it, grasping at Sapphire with his legs. After he was done drinking, he curled up next to Sapphire and fell asleep. She pet the spider absentmindedly.

Rot came running in a few minutes later, barking like mad. The spiders all hissed at the noise. Sapphire scowled.

"Rot! What I have told you about barking for no reason?"

The puppy gave her a dark look, and kept barking. He ran around in a circle, acting like a lunatic. Sapphire grabbed him and stuffed him into a very large jar where the baby spiders used to live. Rot looked up at her through the glass, whining pitifully. He scratched at the glass sides, and pressed his face against his cage.

"Are you ready to be a quiet, well behaved dog?" Sapphire asked.

Rot stuck out his tongue and panted. She took him out of the jar, and put him on the ground. Instantly, he started barking again. Thankfully, he ran out before Sapphire could grab him. The room was quiet except for the occasional creaking of spider legs and contented hisses.

When Sapphire was just about to sit down again, she reached out to her father and noticed something odd. Her father was talking to someone. And not just some random undead or cultist, but her mother.

Her mother was in Icecrown Citadel? How? Panic seized Sapphire, and she left the spiders. She ran straight to the Shadow Throne, running straight past a startled Tibbles.

_Stop! Do not interfere, Sapphire!_ Her father snarled in her head, but her concern was too much.

She went past Sword's rest, and Sapphire stopped at the bodies there. Some were of mortals, but there were two very familiar ones.

"Marwyn!" She screamed, going straight to his body and ignoring Falric. The deathknight was covered in blood, some not his. She shook him, calling his name and demanding that he wake up only to realize that he wasn't sleeping. A large rent in his armor showed that he had been stabbed. Sapphire almost started crying, if the brief pain that came from her father had not distracted her. Her father was in trouble.

She left Marwyn with a sob, and continued on.

Her father was not at the Shadow Throne but down into the Hidden Passage, an icy path that led to a balcony. Sapphire hated the ice path and precarious edge. She had always been afraid of slipping and falling down into the abyss below whenever she had gone that way. But now Sapphire ran that way.

The ice was just as slippery as always, but Sapphire stayed close to the wall. She saw numerous undead lying limp on the ground, and Sapphire decided to run, hoping she wouldn't fall and break her leg or something.

Her father was at the entrance to the balcony, where Sapphire saw her mother standing defiantly in front of him, along with some soldiers. To Sapphire's surprise, Lethumo was among that number, blood covering his armor and runeblade. Sapphire recovered from the sight and turned her eyes back to her mother.

"Mom?" Sapphire called out. She stepped closer. Her father was outraged by her appearance and she could feel it.

Jaina looked over to her and went pale. Sapphire knew what her father was going to do to her mother. He had a very strong urge to kill her. The prospect of her mother being killed scared Sapphire. But her father knew that, to her discomfort. Sapphire flinched when he turned his attention to her.

_Go to your room, Sapphire. I'll punish you later for defying me.  
_

She ignored the commanding tone and strode forward, grabbing his arm.

"Don't kill her, please!" She pleaded.

The Lich King, enraged, didn't bother using the collar around her neck. He had a simpler solution, backhanding her across the face. Sapphire cried out as the sharp metal of his gauntlet ripped open the skin, from her jaw to her eye. She felt to the icy ground. Pain exploded from her wrist. Blood dripped from the wound on her face, steaming as it fell onto the ice. Sapphire couldn't see straight. A second later and she realized she couldn't see in her right eye, on the side that her father had hit her. Had the metal cut her eye?

Someone grabbed Sapphire and pulled her away from her father, onto the balcony. She looked up and saw Lethumo in her one good eye.

Jaina shouted something to her father, but Sapphire was too disoriented to know what she said, or what her father replied with. Something caught in her vision and she saw the strangest thing. She had seen ships in books, but the thing that flew up into view barely resembled it, with no sails, and large round metal things on its sides, with fast moving blades going around and around quickly.

The cannons on the sides went off, light flashing from the ends. The cannonballs hit the side of the mountain over the balcony, and the mountain exploded. Chunks of rocks fell down, falling around the Lich King and closing the opening. Sapphire passed out from the blood loss and the blinding fury coming from her father.


	34. Chapter 34

Hi...So, my mother just told me something heartbreaking. Her ex-boyfriend stole some of my father's belongings, and won't give them back. What's worse...The address he gave was a fake, and we don't know where he is. It just makes me so depressed. The things he bought don't have any real monetary value! They were antiques and worth only maybe a hundred bucks at most. And he had plenty of money. The fact that someone would steal things just for the sake of stealing them is the worst. Those things were precious to my father, and that man just took them. I had hoped to give my future children one of the objects, and now I can't. It's a good thing I finished this chapter before this. I'll have a friend post this chapter later.

* * *

Voices pierced Sapphire's murky consciousness. Her head throbbed painfully, but her body was completely numb, and it almost felt like she didn't have a body. It was hard to hear what the voices were saying, but they were loud enough to be annoying to Sapphire's drugged sleep, keeping her slightly awake. Sleep called her persistently, but Sapphire couldn't fall into the darkness and comfort of it. Her dreams had been slightly pleasant, if a little blurry. A bunch of Rots rolling around in snow. Apples being coated in sticky, delicious honey. But the voices were slowly getting clearer and clearer, and Sapphire was waking up.

The first voice was a man's, exhaustion in his tone.

"I've done all I can. I'm only a doctor, not a magical healer. The eye was punctured as you can see, but your quick spellwork was able to save it. But it will be a miracle indeed if her vision is fine. You will have to take her to someone else skilled in magic to see what can be done.

The next voice was Sapphire's mother's, soft and emotional.

"At least she's alive. I might know a few mages who could help. Thank you so much for your help, doctor."

"I didn't help that much, Lady Proudmoore, but I did what I could for her wrist and cheek. If you will excuse me, I have other patients. Have the girl take these potions for the pain."

"I will. Thanks again," Jaina Proudmoore said. A door opened and closed, and there was a third voice suddenly. It was Lethumo, and he sounded regretful.

"I should have dragged her back to you back in Dalaran, but I wasn't thinking right. I would have taken her after, but the Lich King kept her with him at all times."

Sapphire's mother sighed. "It's not your fault. At least she's away from Arthas now."

"She will not be happy. Forcibly taken from her home and injured, it wouldn't surprise me to receive some hostility from her. Especially when she learns that I was the one that killed Marwyn. He was actually good for a Scourge deathknight, and tried to keep Sapphire innocent."

There was a sound of glass against glass, and the rustling of cloth. Sapphire felt someone's warm hand on her forehead.

"She is ice cold. What is that collar around her neck for?"

When he answered, Lethumo sounded uneasy. "I don't exactly know..."

Sapphire blearily opened her eyes. She could see out of both eyes, though her right eye made part of her view blurry. Having her vision being so halved, it was disorienting. It hurt her head to see like that, so she closed her injured eye. All she could see was a bit of the bed she was on, a wooden wall, a dresser, and a few sparse shelves. On the dresser, there was a tray of potions in varying shades of color. The bed she was laying on was hard, and the blanket on her was thin and scratchy. The pillow was comfortable. Her wrist was stuck in a splint, and it now made her feel even more uncomfortable.

She tried to sit up, but her mother saw the movement.

"Sapphire! Sweetheart, try not to move. Are you hurting?"

Sapphire moved her head to look at her mother. Jaina Proudmoore looked like she hadn't slept in a while, with the bags under her eyes and the weary look on her face.

"Where am I?" Sapphire asked weakly.

"We are on the Skybreaker, the ship that rescued us. You're safe now."

That made no sense. Sapphire stared at her.

"What...What do you mean? Where's my father? No, I'm not safe! You...you kidnapped me!" Sapphire said, panicking.

Jaina looked at her in surprise.

"No honey. I think you are confused," She tried to say, but Sapphire wasn't having it. Her mother reached out, maybe in an attempt to comfort her, but Sapphire recoiled back and snarled.

"Get away from me."

Lethumo put his hand on Jaina's shoulder.

"Leave her. She needs a bit of alone time I think. You go try to get some sleep. I'll keep guard at her door," The night elf suggested calmly. Sapphire's mother looked unsure.

"All right...I'll come back in an hour or two."

Sapphire glared at Lethumo while her mother left. The night elf smiled, but it was forced. Then he left as well, closing and locking the door. Tears fell from Sapphire's eyes. A mirror was on a small table, and Sapphire picked it up.

She didn't dare open her eye, not wanting to see what damage had been inflicted upon it. Instead, Sapphire looked at the side of her face. It was covered in gauze but Sapphire pulled it off.

Ragged flesh ran over her cheek, bright red. It looked like a ghoul had bitten her face. Her lip had been spared from the wound, but the wounds went up to her eye and Sapphire could only imagine what her eye looked like. The fact it didn't hurt made Sapphire think that she had been given some potion to keep away the pain.

As she looked at her face, she saw the collar around her neck. Sapphire gasped.

_Dad!_

There was no answer. Sapphire couldn't even feel her father's consciousness. She put down the mirror, and kept calling for her father. The lack of answer scared her. She was alone, with no one to help her. Surrounded by mortals that would kill her if they knew who she was. Her mother seemed willing to care for her, but that was temporary. She would hate her daughter eventually. Lethumo had killed Marwyn. He had probably lied about being attracted to her. He didn't care about her.

Somehow she'd have to escape. She couldn't get off the flying ship, but her mother might take her to land eventually. She might could slip from her mother then, but how far could she get with a hurt wrist and ruined eye?

Sapphire would play along for now. Eventually she could come up with a plan and get back to her father. She only hoped he would take her back.

* * *

The next few days were awful. Pain blossomed from her face and wrist, and she took the potions gladly when they were offered. It seemed that Jaina hoped her daughter would eventually open up, but she was disappointed. Sapphire rarely spoke. She took food when presented with it as well, but she would mostly try to sleep and not cry. She got used to seeing with her ruined eye, but the looks her mother sometimes gave her told Sapphire the eye looked horrifying.

Whenever Lethumo would come in, Sapphire gave him such a look of rage that he couldn't even look her in the eye. He sometimes tried to apologize for his deception, but one look from Sapphire would him shut up. He just looked at her with pity and anguish.

When Sapphire was mostly recovered and less hostile to her mother, Jaina told her she needed to take Sapphire to the Argent Tournament. Apparently her mother needed to be with the King of Stormwind when the tournament started.

"And...after the war, I'll take you home," Jaina said to her after a while. Sapphire looked up to her from the bed where she lay, waiting for the potion that would numb her pain.

"Home?" She asked curiously.

Jaina brightened up. "Yes. Theramore, in Dustwallow Marsh. You probably haven't heard of it but I think you'll like it. It's on the coast. You could learn how to swim. There is all sorts of seafood. I imagine you haven't had any seafood. Do you like to read? I have books on all subjects."

Sapphire thought that sounded nice, even though she knew she had no plans on going there. Her mother sounded like she really wanted Sapphire with her, at least for now. Sapphire tried to indulge her.

"What about my friends? Can they come too?" She expected her mother to say no.

Jaina tilted her head. "Oh. Who are your friends?"

"Well...There's Rot, my puppy. And Tibbles, my gargoyle friend. Gluth the plague dog, Paz and Fuzz the spiders."

A small smile came across her mother's face. "I'm sure we could work something out."

"Wait...You'd let my friends come with me? Rot's an undead dog as is Gluth. You did hear me say Tibbles is a gargoyle, right? Paz and Fuzz are giant spiders!" Sapphire protested.

"If you would miss them. That dog of yours could easily be disguised I hope. The rest could settle in the marsh as long as they don't hurt anyone."

Sapphire couldn't believe it. Her mother was okay with her keeping her friends? It sounded too good to be true. Sapphire was now thinking about it. Gluth was always hungry, but he could be taught to eat things in the marsh. Tibbles wouldn't be too happy about staying in the marsh unless he had some books, but Jaina said she had all sorts of books. And Paz and Fuzz were tame and would cause no trouble. The more Sapphire thought about the offer, the more she liked it. And the more she got confused.

Her father was going to win the war. And when he learned of Sapphire, he would be furious. She couldn't hide from him, not with the collar around her neck.

She suddenly sat up on the bed. It was a desperate hope, but that was really the only hope Sapphire ever had.

"Could...Could you remove this collar from me?" Sapphire asked.

Jaina reached out and examined it.

"I could try. I see no seams, so it must be magically sealed. Did your father put that on you?" She asked as he ran her fingers over the metal. Sapphire nodded.

Jaina shrugged. "Let me try something. Hold still."

The girl obeyed, closing both her eyes. She clenched her fists together and felt a bit of magic in the air.

As soon as it touched the collar, Sapphire screamed. She writhed as her entire body felt like she was being ripped apart. Her blood felt like molten iron. Muscles screeched and at one time, her heart stopped beating for what seemed like forever. Then, as unlikely as it seemed, her father showed up in her mind.

_What is...No! She's mine, you bitch. I will have her, even if I have to kill her._

Sapphire opened her eyes and snatched a knife from her mother's belt. She turned it to her neck. There was a bang when Lethumo kicked the door in, and slapped the knife out of Sapphire's hand. A snarl that was not Sapphire's came out of her mouth, and she tried to get the dagger. Lethumo grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the bed. The pain continued. Her father was furious, and made Sapphire struggle against the night elf's grip. But she was like a puppy against the strength of Lethumo. Sapphire shrieked as her spine felt like it was snapping.

There was a metallic click, and Lethumo snatched the collar, now open, off Sapphire's neck. He pulled the girl up, and watched her cautiously, expecting her to try to kill herself again. Sapphire just trembled. She felt her bare neck.

The magical fight had taken its toll on Jaina Proudmoore. She weakly sat on the bed, one hand pressed to her head. She did look up and smile at Sapphire.

"That was harder than I thought...Are you okay?"

The girl didn't respond in words. Instead, she wrapped her arms around her mother, shocking the woman. Sapphire shocked Jaina even more when she started crying. It seemed that Jaina wasn't used to dealing with that sort of thing, for she awkwardly pat Sapphire on the back.

"It's okay, Sapphire. You're all right. You're safe."


	35. Chapter 35

Tons of food was piled up in front of Sapphire. Breads, cheeses, meats, and brightly colored "candy" made up Sapphire's first meal at the Argent Tournament. She had arrived with her mother and Lethumo only an hour before, and her two guardians decided to treat her to real, fresh food.

They were in a tent, given for Jaina and her daughter to share. It was large and had two simple beds in it, which was more than any soldier got. All the food was put on one bed, since there was no table. Sapphire didn't mind much about the rugged living space. She was free of her father finally. So why did she feel so unhappy and out of place?

She distracted herself by trying to figure out what to eat first. Sapphire wasn't sure where to start. Tiny sausages lined one plate, while slices of multi-colored cheeses sat in a basket. A little plate held this block of something golden, which Lethumo called butter. Sapphire ate a bit, and found it very delicious. She tried to eat the whole thing, but Lethumo stopped her. He explained that she was supposed to eat butter on bread and other foods, not by itself.

So Sapphire started with some bread. The bread she tried had small seeds and bits of dried fruit in it. With the butter, it tasted like pure happiness to Sapphire.

The meats were fresh, and seasoned with things Sapphire had never heard of. The sausages, when Sapphire bit into them, felt like they burned her tongue, though the meat wasn't that hot. Sapphire's mouth felt like it was on fire. Lethumo gave her a glass of water, explaining the meat had peppers, though what peppers were, Sapphire didn't know.

After eating all the main food, Sapphire sampled the candies. Sapphire loved every single kind. They were sweeter than honey, which Sapphire thought impossible. The stuff called chocolate was the greatest food in the world to Sapphire. She liked the way it melted in her mouth. The girl stuffed her face with all kinds of chocolate and sugar.

Lethumo watched with a bit of shocked fascination. Jaina had already left to speak with some leaders, so she missed her daughter's over enthusiasm.

"I never thought food would taste so good!" Sapphire said after a while.

"And there's more where that came from. You haven't even eaten any night elf food! Or vegetables for that matter...vegetables do not taste as good as this stuff, but you have to eat it to stay healthy," Lethumo said with disgust.

"Oh, okay. I'll eat whatever you set in front of me," Sapphire said happily, eyeing a stray piece of candy. It was some kind of stick of sugar. Lethumo caught her look.

"You take that candy, and go outside. Run around, see the sights. Like we have said, no one knows who you are so you don't have to cringe in fear every time a paladin walks by. Just don't let them touch you...In fact, don't let any man touch you. Maybe I ought to go with you...The holy peoples are probably fine, it's the others you got to worry about."

The night elf took Sapphire out of the tent they had been given. The area around the tournament was busy with all sorts of activity. Sapphire could see people fighting each other, stalls full of merchandise, and of course the large construction that was to house all of the games or something.

Lethumo and Sapphire hung out near a large field, where people were doing this activity called jousting. Sapphire thought it was rather boring. No one died.

"Hey Dog! Are you listening to a word I say?"

Sapphire turned toward the harsh voice.

A knight in full armor was standing in front of someone else. Just looking at the knight made Sapphire feel uneasy. The evil look on his face told her he would get along well in the Scourge. The smaller figure was young man the same age as Sapphire, with midnight black hair and skin that was pale, though not as pale as Sapphire's. She frowned. The dog looked very familiar.

"Hey...Hey, isn't that your friend, Lethumo?"

The night elf looked to where she pointed. He looked furious.

"Stay here."

Sapphire didn't obey, and followed the night elf as he stomped over to the knight.

"Adalger!"

The knight turned around, smirking. "Hello. Sticking your long ears where they shouldn't be again, Night elf?"

Sapphire saw that the boy, she remembered his name was Ethan, was looking like a whipped dog. The dog itself looked like it wanted to rip the knight apart, but wouldn't unless his master told him to.

"I told you if you kept mistreating your younger brother, I would punish you."

"Then punish me, pointy ears. I'd like to see you try. But I need to go sign in. I plan on winning the Tournament."

The knight strode off. Ethan flinched as he passed.

"Ethan! Why do you put up with that ass?" Lethumo snarled.

The boy looked up, and Sapphire saw his lovely green eyes. There was dark bruise on his neck.

"Because I have to. And don't threaten him again, please...He'll only take it out on me."

Lethumo snorted. "If I got rid of him, then he wouldn't be able to take it out on you."

"Murder is wrong," Ethan snapped.

"Really? You didn't have a problem with it in the Grizzly Hills," Lethumo responded cheerfully.

The dog at Ethan's side snarled. The boy grabbed the dog's collar. The dog looked unhappy, but he licked his master's hand and stopped growling. Ethan sighed.

"That wasn't my fault. I'm better now...Can we let it go?"

"Sure, buddy. Remember my friend here?"

Ethan looked over at Sapphire. "Yes! I remember Sapphire. Her name matches her beautiful blue..."

He stopped when he saw Sapphire's injured eye. Sapphire quickly covered it up, ashamed. The look of pity from Ethan was comforting and irritating at the same time. Lethumo put a hand on Sapphire's shoulder.

"There was an accident. Hey, why don't you two hang out together? I need to go talk to someone, but I trust you two alone. Let Sapphire play with what's his name? The dog."

"Ni'kua. And I guess so...If you are all right with it, my lady," Ethan said, looking at Sapphire. She smiled.

"Yes. I love dogs. I have one of my own."

Ethan instantly lit up. "Really? Do you know what breed?"

Lethumo left as Sapphire shook her head. "No...Sorry. I could draw him if I had a piece of paper."

"I have some at my tent. Come on, Ni'kua!"

The dog barked as they went to Ethan's tent. The large dog wagged his tail as he looked at Sapphire. He was a big fluffy thing, and Sapphire couldn't resist petting him. The dog was more than happy to let her.

When Ethan retrieved some paper and a piece of charcoal, Sapphire tried to draw Rot. She drew him how he'd look without rotting parts and his missing ear. Ethan watched curiously. When she was done, Ethan turned it around to look at.

"Huh. That...Sorry, but that looks like an old dog of mine, Wendell. He died years ago. But that's a Lordaeron terrier. They are supposed to be extinct. You're really lucky. What's your dog's name?"

"Rot," Sapphire said, then realized that was probably a stupid name. But Ethan didn't seem that bothered by the strange name.

"I had been hoping to bring back the Lordaeron terrier with Wendell, but he died when he was just a puppy. That's what I want to do with my life. Breed dogs. How about you?" Ethan asked curiously.

Sapphire looked at him, and bit her lip. "I don't know."

Ethan gave her a sympathetic look. "Well, you are the most beautiful woman I've ever met. My aunt isn't even as pretty as you are. I'm sure you could find a nice husband."

Sapphire scowled. She had no idea what a husband was, but it didn't sound like something she wanted. "I don't want a husband."

The mortified look on Ethan's face took Sapphire aback. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you. I just meant that you could get any man if you wanted."

So a husband was a man. Sapphire wondered what he meant by getting any man. As soon as someone found out who she was, they would run real fast. The only one she could have as a "husband", whatever it was, would be a Scourge deathknight, or Lethumo. But she wasn't that happy at his betrayal and killing of Marwyn. She hadn't forgiven him, but he was the only friend she had right then so she had to forget for a little while at least.

But Ethan seemed nice. She talked with him a bit more. He really loved dogs, and seemed very keen on talking to Sapphire about different kinds. He talked about terriers, hounds, shepherds, and other kinds of dogs. He really liked dogs. Sapphire could probably act the same way about spiders, but if she tried talking about them, Ethan would become suspicious. Sapphire doubted normal mortals took take of giant spiders.

The more he talked, the more uncomfortable Sapphire became. He spoke of his family in Stormwind, and this place called Alterac, and places he had visited that Sapphire had never heard of. And then, he asked about Sapphire's family and where she was from.

"Uh...I'm from Lordaeron," Sapphire said, remembering that was where her mother said her father came from. Ethan frowned.

"Oh, you were born there? Where do you live now?"

Sapphire fidgeted. Then, she remembered where her mother lived. "Theramore. I live in Theramore."

"That's interesting. I've never been to Kalimdor. Maybe I can come visit you?"

"Maybe...If we survive," Sapphire said darkly.

Ethan smirked. "Not confident enough in the Light?"

"Of course not! The Light is useless," Sapphire snapped. Ethan didn't get mad, still smirking.

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, it's never helped me, now has it? And it didn't help you with your brother," Sapphire responded.

Ethan stayed silent for a while. He picked up the drawing of Rot, a sad look on his face. Just then Lethumo returned. He was in a cheerful mood.

"You guys have fun?" He asked.

"Yeah, of course. I taught Sapphire about different dog breeds," Ethan said, hiding the sadness he had showed just a second ago.

Lethumo sat down between the two, grinning. Ni'kua looked affronted when the night elf pet him on the head.

"Well, that's great. I have to steal Sapphire away, sadly. She's going to meet a good friend of mine. My second best buddy, behind you Ethan!"

Ethan looked at Sapphire in alarm, then back at the night elf. He obviously knew something Sapphire didn't. He muttered a goodbye to the both of them, and retreated into his tent. Ni'kua didn't know anything, so he happily licked the girl before following Ethan. Feeling lonely, Sapphire stood up with Lethumo.

As they left, Sapphire grew curious and asked, "Where are we going? Who's this friend of yours?"

"Oh, someone important. Don't worry, I already told him everything about you. He won't kill you...Maybe."

Fear came into Sapphire. She hoped Lethumo was just joking. They went toward a couple of dark tents. Sapphire was alarmed to see a bunch of deathknights and grasped Lethumo's hand in fright. The deathknight gave her a reassuring look. He took her to a large tent, and entered it with her.

A deathknight sat in front of a desk. A hood covered his head, so Sapphire couldn't see his face. She doubted she knew who he was, until Lethumo introduced them both.

"Sapphire Menethil, meet Darion Morgraine. Darion Morgraine, meet Sapphire Menethil. Please don't kill her."

Sapphire highly doubted "please" would stop Highlord Darion Morgraine from killing his worst enemy's daughter.


	36. Chapter 36

It was silent for a while. The Highlord studied her intently, making Sapphire uncomfortable. When she couldn't take it anymore, she blurted out what she was thinking.

"If you're going to kill me, can I at least pick the way you kill me? Suffocating sounds nice. And when my father eventually finds me and resurrects me, my body will still be intact. But you can stab me if you want. Just don't slit my throat. "

Sapphire really didn't want to die at all, but if she had to, she'd at least try to die quickly and painlessly. She was looking at the deathknight's two swords, wondering how it felt to have a sword thrust through her body.

"That does sound tempting...but I'm not going to kill you," Darion Morgraine said. The deathknight leaned back in the chair, and folded his arms.

Sapphire blinked, hope springing up inside of her. "Really? Oh...You're going to torture me, aren't you?"

"No," The Highlord said, finding this amusing. Sapphire scowled.

"Well, what are you going to do? You're not going to kill me directly, but are you going to have me killed? Feed me to some plaguehounds? Throw me off a cliff?" Sapphire demanded, annoyed at the deathknight.

Darion just looked at Lethumo. The night elf smiled. "Told you. She's like a puppy trying to act like a wolf."

"Perhaps. At any rate, I agree with you on one thing. She's not a threat. Nor is she useful."

It was irritating for Sapphire to be talked about as if she weren't there. She glared at the two men. Lethumo continued.

"So, will you consider what I suggested? She has killed people, but she's a victim too."

"I will have to speak to Lady Proudmoore. But the girl will have to prove herself whether or not she can coexist with the living. I need to see how far the apple has fallen from the tree," The Highlord said darkly.

Lethumo clapped his hands together. "Well, you don't have to worry about that! Sapphire's apple is very far from the tree! It's over two hills and a river!"

"We'll see...Take her and go. I need to go talk with Fordring."

Lethumo took Sapphire's arm, and escorted her back out. He was grinning, saluting to another deathknight, who scowled. The Tournament was bustling with all sorts of visitors, and Lethumo had to keep hold of Sapphire when they passed a stables. Sapphire really wanted to pet a large riding wolf, but the night elf snatched her hand away before the wolf could bite it off.

"Some rules! First off, don't touch random animals, wild or domesticated. Second, if you can't resist...pet something with less teeth like a horse or a ram. Okay?"

"Okay!" Sapphire said, still looking at the wolf with bright eyes.

She really restrained herself when she saw some night sabers. Lethumo could tell she really wanted to pet one. He sighed, and went over to one of the owners, a female night elf. He leaned against a wall, a smile on his face. Sapphire heard him talking to the other elf, who giggled and nodded. Lethumo gestured for the girl to come over.

The night saber was beautiful. It had a noble looking face, with dagger sized fangs poking out of its mouth. The fur glistened, light grey stripes against gleaming black fur. After looking at the night elf women for encouragement, Sapphire pet the night saber's silky fur. The large predator seemed interested in Sapphire as much as she was in it. He sniffed her as she pet him and licked her arm with a rough tongue. Lethumo tried in vain to flirt with the female night elf, who rejected his advances with a giggle. She told Sapphire where to find them if she wanted to come back and pet the saber. Sapphire thanked her profusely, and waved at the night saber as they left.

* * *

Something woke up Sapphire in the middle of the night. She looked around the tent, not getting up. Across from Sapphire, her mother was sound asleep. She could have returned to Dalaran to sleep, but refused to leave her daughter alone. Not because she distrusted Sapphire, but because she was afraid to leave her daughter, less the Lich King decide to try and capture her again. Lethumo was sprawled on the floor, hugging a wine bottle and snoring. Sapphire doubted the night elf would be able to save her from Tibbles.

Sapphire sat up, and tried to find what had woken up. The night wasn't that quiet. Horses occasionally whinnied, and there was the sound of guards walking by. Sapphire doubted those noises had woken her.

Then, she noticed something near the tent entrance. Sapphire really didn't want to leave her warm fur blankets, but she wanted to know what it was. She reluctantly left the warmth, and went over to the tent flaps. Moonlight streamed in, and there on the ground on a pile of snow, was a letter. Sapphire picked it up, and opened it.

_Return to your father before it is too late. Head toward Sindragosa's Fall, and a friend shall take you home._

That was it. No signature, nothing to indicate who had written it. It was in fine handwriting, like nothing Sapphire had ever seen before. She looked outside, but there was no one nearby, and no footprints leading toward the tent but hers, her mother's, and Lethumo's from early that night. She just returned to her bed, confused.

The next morning, Sapphire didn't tell Lethumo or her mother about the letter. She'd hidden it under the small pillow on her bed, but she thought about it all day. It had said to return to her father before it was too late. Too late for who, Sapphire or her father? Now that Sapphire could finally think clearly, she was worried. From what Sapphire could see, the living were very organized. The fact her father had not crushed the intruders probably meant that he couldn't. Her father might actually lose the war. In the beginning, that meant Sapphire would be free. But that would also mean her father would be killed, or imprisoned if he couldn't be killed. But not only he would die, but the others in the Scourge. Rot, Tibbles, Paz, and Nicci would be killed on the way to kill the Lich King. Sapphire couldn't let that happen. Maybe if she warned her father, he could win the war.

Sapphire decided to go and warn him, despite the certainty of him imprisoning her for probably eternity. Getting away was trickier than she though. She knew where Sindragosa's fall was, but she couldn't get there. Both Lethumo and Jaina were with her. While Sapphire thought of a way to escape. She asked her mother lots of meaningless, but interesting questions. Jaina tried her best to answer them. She showed Sapphire a map of Kalimdor, and where Theramore was. It was in something called a marsh. Jaina had a hard time describing it too Sapphire, since all the girl knew was of the cold, icy Icecrown and the snowy Dragonblight. Dustwallow Marsh was a type of wetlands. It was hard not to find water in Dustwallow, whether it was fresh or salt water. Sapphire didn't know what salt water was, so Jaina had to explain the ocean to her. Then, she had to explain what rain was, which was apparently was like snow, but in liquid form. Luckily it was snowing at the time, so Sapphire tried to imagine drops of water drifting down to the ground.

An opportunity to get away was presented when Ethan came to see her. The boy came walking up, Ni'kua was at his heels. Lethumo waved at him, but Jaina frowned in confusion.

"Who is this?" She asked.

Lethumo answered. "Ethan Calwood. Good kid. I left Sapphire with him yesterday for a bit," Lethumo said happily. Before Jaina could respond, Ethan came close enough to hear.

The young man gave a small bow to Sapphire's mother. "Lady Proudmoore. I was just wondering if I could borrow Lady Sapphire? I wasn't busy, and I was hoping-"

"You should let them," Lethumo interrupted, pushing Sapphire over to Ethan. The night elf was smirking.

"I mean, Sapphire should hang out with others her age, and Ethan's the only one within miles of here. They should go...I dunno, have a snowball fight, play chess, talk about dogs! They both love dogs! I trust Ethan to be alone with Sapphire."

Ethan looked horrified. "Wait, I don't think-"

"Well, if Sapphire is all right with it, I don't see why not," Jaina said, looking at her daughter. Sapphire looked at Ethan.

"I'm fine with it. Ethan's really nice. So is his dog."

Jaina smiled. "All right. You can go hang out with him. Ethan?"

"Yes?" Ethan asked nervously.

"You do anything to Sapphire, and I'll turn you into a frog. Understand?"

Ethan paled. "Yes, ma'am!"

Sapphire frowned, confused. "What's a frog?"

* * *

It was Sapphire that suggested they leave the Tournament area. Ethan didn't want to stray too far, but Sapphire retorted that they had a big strong dog to protect them from any undead. Ni'kua barked, and took on a serious demeanor. His tail wagged despite the stern look on his face as he studied the landscape.

They made their way closer to Sindragosa's fall, which Sapphire knew from looking at a map. She did get distracted when Ethan suggested they make a snowman. Sapphire didn't know what that was, but Ethan seemed eager to show her. He had her roll a snowball the size of her head, as he worked on a much larger snowball. After they were done, they made a third ball, bigger than both of the other balls. Then, Ethan put the medium sized ball on top of the large one, then put the head sized ball on the very top.

"Too bad we don't have any rocks or sticks. We could give him arms and a face. I guess there is no snow in Theramore?" He asked Sapphire.

"Nope! Just lots of rain! And...frogs?" Sapphire said uncertainly.

Ethan laughed. "Well, there's sometimes snow in Stormwind. Usually, my family heads up to Alterac for Winter's Veil and there is a ton of snow there. Even in the summer, the valleys are rather cool."

Sapphire just nodded. She had no idea where Alterac was, or what Winter's Veil was. Sapphire saw some dragon skeletons in the distance, and knew they were close. She looked around for whoever this friend was.

Ethan noticed how close they were as well, and placed a hand on Sapphire's shoulder. "We should head back."

There was a sound of something heading toward them, and Sapphire looked around. From behind a large outcropping of rock and ice came a horse. Sapphire's eyes widened in recognition. Invincible trotted toward them.

Ethan took out his sword, but Sapphire went forward.

"Invincible!" Sapphire said in delight. The horse shook his neck, and rubbed his bony head against her. She couldn't hear him say anything though, which confused her. Then she realized the collar must have let her hear what he was saying. Sapphire was disappointed. She couldn't hear any rude remarks, and couldn't retort them.

"Sapphire! What are you doing with that undead horse?" Ethan demanded anxiously.

"Don't worry! He's a friend! Invincible, this is Ethan. Ethan, this is Invincible!"

The horse snorted in derision at the human boy. Ethan looked flummoxed.

"What...Why are you friends with an undead horse?"

Sapphire sighed. She had been hoping to convince Ethan to leave her before the questions started, but there was no way around it.

"I'm not from Theramore. Sorry, but I lied. I was raised in Icecrown Citadel."

Ethan looked at the undead horse. "Raised...by who?"

Sapphire was going to say her father was the Lich King, but Ethan might try to tell other people that. And she remembered Marwyn, painfully thinking of his death.

"His name is Marwyn. I ran away, but I need to go back. Sorry again. You should go."

Ethan blinked and reached forward to grab her wrist before she could get a way. Sapphire scowled.

"I can't just let you go off into the heart of evil! What...why would you go back?"

Sapphire scowled. "I need to go...I am part of the Scourge. Don't worry, no undead would harm me."

"You're insane," Ethan surmised, horror on his face. That hurt more than Sapphire thought it would. Ethan turned to leave Sapphire.

"Ethan! Ethan, where you, you little bitch?"

Ethan suddenly grabbed Sapphire and hid behind a rock. There was terror in the boy's green eyes. Invincible followed when Sapphire motioned for him to hide with him. Sapphire looked up from behind the boulder. Ethan's brother was out in the snow, near the snowman. With a vicious kick, he destroyed the snowy creation, and looked around.

"Hiding from me, Ethy? I thought you would have learned by now you can't hide from me! How about this time I use a knife to punish you?"

Ethan closed his eyes, trembling. Sapphire felt bad for him. She looked out at his brother, and scowled. She stood up, and left the hiding place. Ethan hissed at her not to, but Sapphire just went off toward his brother.

"Hey!" She snapped.

The man, around thirty years old, turned around to Sapphire. He grinned.

"Well, hello sweetheart."

"What do you want with Ethan?" She demanded.

His brother laughed, and Sapphire was reminded of Falric, though this man seemed worse somehow.

"That little weasel ran away again. I want to teach him a lesson. Is he nearby?"

Sapphire noticed that he had taken a couple of steps toward her. She instantly took a step back.

She tried to keep her voice as calm as possible. "Yes, but you need to leave him alone."

Another laugh, and he lunged at her. He grabbed Sapphire's arm and pulled her forward. She could smell alcohol on his breath like Lethumo sometimes smelled like.

"I suppose you will do if Ethan is too much of a coward and is letting a girl fight his battles. Ever been with a man before?" He growled.

"Adalger, don't you touch her!" Ethan came out of hiding, as did Ni'kua. The fur on the dog's neck was standing up, and his mouth was turned up in a snarl.

Ethan's brother looked over at the younger man, smirking.

"Oh, you show up. Haven't I told you what happens when you try to tell me want to do? Though this girl is pretty. Well, except for half her face. But you can't see much in the darkness of a tent."

Ni'kua snarled and snapped his teeth in Adalger's direction. But it was Ethan that looked scary.

"Let. Her. Go," He growled. And it was a real, bestial growl. Sapphire looked at him in fright. Adalger was smiling, and tossed Sapphire to the side. She fell into the snow, and scrambled up into a sitting position.

Ethan charged at his brother, yelling. Adalger grabbed his brother, but Ethan scratched at him with sharp claws that had suddenly sprouted where his fingernails were supposed to be. Fur sprouted from his skin. There was a ripping sound when Ethan's clothes tore as he grew bigger. His mouth elongated into a snout, with large fangs dripping with saliva.

Instead of Ethan, there was a wolf like creature standing in front of Adalger. The beast roared. Adalger backed away, horrified. He had obviously never seen that thing before.

"I knew you were a freak, Ethan! I'll have your skin as rug, you monster!"

He fled back toward the Argent Tournament, sprinting. The wolf creature snorted heavily, his breath visible as clouds in the cold weather. It looked at Sapphire, then whined. It's ears flattened against its skull, and it backed away.

"Wait! Ethan?" Sapphire asked.

"Yes. It's me," The beast said, his voice a deep rasp. He looked ashamed, hanging his large canine head.

"That's amazing!" Sapphire exclaimed. Ethan's ears, pointed and furry, perked up.

"Excuse me? Do you see the kind of monster I am?" He snorted.

Sapphire stood up, and took a step toward Ethan. The beast instantly stepped backward, whining. He hid behind a rock. Invincible and Ni'kua watched curiously.

"I just admitted I was raised by a deathknight. You aren't the first 'monster' I've seen," Sapphire said helpfully.

Ethan sighed. "I cannot go back now...I have been trying to keep it a secret, but now all the hard work is ruined."

Sapphire gave him a look of pity. "Can you help me? I need to return to Icecrown Citadel. I'm sure I could convince my friend Invincible to fly you as far as you want?"

The horse looked angry, but he made a sound that seemed affirmative. Ethan scowled, his furry eyes narrowing.

"I guess so. I can't just let you go off by yourself and get eaten by a ghoul or something. Don't get too close to me though. I might hurt you."

Now that he warned her, Sapphire wanted to touch his fur. It was the color of midnight and looked very soft. But she nodded in agreement. Ethan picked up the remains of his shirt. His pants had torn a bit, but They remained mostly intact. Ethan's fur was nice and thick, and hopefully that would keep him warm as they made their way to Icecrown. Sapphire would just have to deal with it. Her clothes would hopefully keep her warm enough.

She mounted Invincible, but Ethan didn't. He was too large in his large beast body for the both of them to ride. Instead, he got on all fours like a dog and followed Invincible as the horse walked forward. His head hung in despair. As they went farther from Jaina and Lethumo, Sapphire wondered if this was a good idea.


	37. Chapter 37

Inside a tiny cave, Sapphire shivered as the occasional gust made its way past Invincible's body, which blocked the entrance of the cave. He felt no cold, so he was trying to protect the mortals inside with his body. It worked for the most part. Ni'kua pressed himself against Sapphire, who wrapped her arms around the dog's neck.

Ethan lay meekly on a bit of rock in the cave, sniffling. The small group had made their way down from Sindragosa's fall, and through part of the Valley of Lost Hope. The little cave they were in was just near Aldur'thar, the Desolation Gate. Sapphire had hoped to get through the gate before stopping, but a storm had picked up. They had barely been able to see the small cave that was now their refuge. A few bones were scattered about in the cave, but Sapphire figured they had just blown in with the wind at some point.

During the whole trip, Ethan hadn't said a word. He seemed so unhappy, that Sapphire had left him alone for the most part. He hadn't changed back into his human form, because he had shredded his clothes upon transforming, and he would freeze without it. So he was still a beast, his fur fluffed out to keep him warm. Since they had nothing else to do, Sapphire tried to have a conversation.

"So...How'd you become that wolfy thing?" She asked, smiling in an attempt to be nice. Ethan looked up.

"I'm called a worgen. And I became this way after being tricked into joining the Wolfcult. A bunch of monsters trying to trick humans into becoming worgen like them."

Sapphire gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry. You didn't want to be a worgen?"

"No! I had no idea that was what those people were! Thankfully I escaped, but only after being bitten by one of them chasing after me. They probably expected me to come crawling back after being , but I didn't. I turned once before, but after that experience, I kept the beast deep down. Trust me, it's all I can do right now not to attack you."

Sapphire froze. Ni'kua looked up, and whined at Ethan. He left Sapphire's side momentarily to pad over to his master, and lick him on the face. Ethan reached up and pet the dog, sighing. After a while, Ni'kua returned to Sapphire and licked her as well. Sapphire smiled and hugged the dog.

"Can I tell you something?" Sapphire asked. Ethan looked over at her.

"Sure," He muttered.

Sapphire knew what she wanted to say, but not how to say it. If Ethan truly felt the urge to hurt her, the truth might set him off. Just looking at his claws and teeth were too obvious of examples of how he could kill her. She gulped, and proceeding slowly.

"Well, my father...is the Lich King," Sapphire blurted out.

Her companion stared at her in silence for several seconds. It made Sapphire thoroughly uncomfortable.

"Yeah, you're definitely insane," Ethan guessed.

Sapphire scowled. She scooped up some snow and formed it into a ball. She then threw it at Ethan, hitting him in the ear. Ethan yipped like a dog, and shook himself. He growled in Sapphire's direction.

"I'm not insane! And at least I'm not moping about my situation like you."

Ethan turned to glare at her. "Well, of course you wouldn't! You're the Lich King's daughter. You probably think undead are nice and your best friends are probably sadistic killers."

That offended Sapphire deeply. She stood up in the small cave. Ni'kua barked in surprise as she strode over to Ethan.

"Undead are nice, and most of my friends are not killers! I have a puppy named Rot, a bookworm gargoyle named Tibbles, and two friendly spiders named Paz and Fuzz! Gluth is a bit murderous, but he's really sweet. And Zyperias..."

Sapphire stopped herself, and then started crying. That sudden change caused Ethan to whine.

"Hey, don't cry. I'm sorry I offended you."

"I don't know what I'm doing, or what's right. I just wish nothing had ever happened. I wish my father had just kept ignoring me, Marwyn was still alive, and everything was back to normal."

The girl leaned against the wall, and sunk to the ground. She kicked aside a bone, unhappily. This whole plan she'd made was stupid. Her father would do worse to her than just ruin half her face. And now that she thought about it, he would find her warning a joke. He wouldn't admit that the mortals were winning. They were going to kill him, but not before he would kill her.

What was she to do? Return to her mother? Invincible wouldn't let her and she wouldn't be able to make it on her own. There was no choice. She had to return to Icecrown and die painfully.

She noticed Ethan had come closer to her. Sapphire sniffled.

Ethan curled up next to her. "Don't worry, Sapphire. Everything will be all right. Sorry about what I said before. You are not insane. I know I could have never survived being raised in such an inhospitable place, surrounded by undead."

Sapphire looked at Ethan. He had been mean at first, but she guessed it was just his own unhappiness striking out. Now he was being nice to her, even though he knew who she was. She hugged him, burying her face into his fur. It was as soft as she'd thought. Ethan grunted in surprise, but he let her hug her.

"Thank you, Ethan. And you're not a monster. Just a very furry person."

Ethan laughed. Afterwards, they tried to go to sleep. Sapphire was tucked between Ni'kua and Ethan, their fur protecting her and keeping her warm. Invincible looked in on the three.

* * *

Getting through Aldu'thar was easy. The undead surrounding the gate, numbering in the hundreds, recognized Invincible and perhaps Sapphire as well. Ghouls and geists moved to make a pathway when the horse moved through the masses of undead. Ethan stayed close to the horse, looking around in horror. Sapphire felt pity for him. Obviously Ethan didn't consider him quite as much a monster as the undead that now surrounded him.

Ni'kua growled at a few plaguehounds that got curious. One undead dog tried to bite at him, but Sapphire turned to look at it.

"Stop," She ordered. The plaguehound instantly backed away, whining. Sapphire looked at the other undead, and they all cowered back. Suddenly she wished she had a hooded cloak, so that she could hide her face from all these undead. All their empty eyes looked upon her and Sapphire had to look at the back of Invincible's head to avoid the looks.

After they passed through the gate, a storm stronger than the one the previous night started up. There was no cave nor any other kind of meager shelter to have. The wind whipped up as Sapphire desperately looked for something to take shelter with. Invincible could cover them up with his wings, protecting them from the gales that hit them.

There was a bit of Sapphire that wished she had left Ethan and Ni'kua. Invincible could have flown to Icecrown quickly. But that meant leaving Ethan to whatever fate his brother could plan. Ethan looked tired as they went on. He had to walk, while Sapphire just rode. She offered to switch places, but the worgen shook his head.

One blast of wind brought ice, and Sapphire cried out as the fast moving shards of frozen water actually cut into her skin. Ethan was protected, his thick black fur stopping the ice. Where the ice cut Sapphire, blood came out, though it froze quickly enough in the blistering cold. Her fingers were stiff as they clung to Invincible's reins, and Sapphire knew she needed to get out of the wind.

"All right...Invincible, stop. I can't go further on. Can you cover us with your wings?"

The horse whinnied, and laid down. Ethan looked at the tattered wings in suspicion.

"I don't think that will help much. I might have a better idea."

The worgen looked around, and trotted over to a thick mound of snow. He sniffed it, and looked back at Sapphire.

"Here." He started digging. Sapphire moved over to him, frowning.

"What are you doing?"

"Making a hole. Ni'kua and my fur will keep us warm, and the snow protects them from the wind."

Sapphire looked skeptically at the hole he was making. "In case you didn't notice, I don't have fur."

Ethan pulled his snow covered face up and looked at her. "You'll have to share a hole with either Ni'kua or me. Preferably Ni'kua."

The dog was already digging his own hole, his fur frosted white. He shook himself suddenly and barked. To be honest with herself, Sapphire didn't know which of them she wanted to share a hole with. It seemed rather pathetic for someone like Sapphire to sleep in a hole made of snow.

She sighed in resignation. "Fine. I guess you'll do. You're bigger and furrier than Ni'kua. I feel like I'm dying."

Ethan looked at her. "Come on. I don't want you to die."

With the help of the worgen, Sapphire lowered herself into the hole. Ethan followed. They were very close to each other, and Ethan realized it. He reluctantly got closer.

"Sorry about this. I would only do this because you are freezing. Normally I would never be this close to a woman."

"Why?" Sapphire asked, curious.

"...Never mind," Ethan muttered. He curled up around her. Sapphire felt snow falling onto her head, and looked up.

"What if we get buried?" She asked in concern.

"Hopefully that horse would dig us out," Ethan said sleepily. Sapphire would have questioned him more, but the sudden snore in her ear told Sapphire that Ethan was asleep. He must have been more exhausted then he showed. Sapphire reached forward, and pet him on his head. She then laid her head on his.


	38. Chapter 38

Happy Holidays, guys. I'm a little exhausted. This past week I've been out of town by myself for the first time in my life, having way too much fun. But I'm back now!

* * *

It almost seemed like Sapphire's father didn't want her to come back. The storm was worse in the morning, howling like a tortured animal. The winds hit them face first, blasting the tiny group mercilessly. Invincible had trouble taking each step on the icy ground as the wind pummeled him. Ethan had better luck, his claws able to dig into the ice. They didn't cover much ground before it they had to stop. Sapphire was trembling when she slipped off of Invincible's back. She curled up next to Ni'kua and buried herself into the dog's fur. Ethan looked on worriedly.

"We should turn back!" Ethan called to her, though she was only a few feet away from him. Sapphire looked up.

"We can't! There's no where else to go! We are almost there!"

Ethan growled and forced his way over to her. "Well, how are you going to get into the Citadel? I need the horse to leave while I'm still far enough away. I doubt I would just be allowed to walk away after standing on the doorstep!"

Sapphire looked at him, biting her lip. "I...I can make it. Or, Invincible can take me while you hide somewhere, then he can come get you!"

"Is that horse really trustworthy?" Ethan demanded, glancing at Invincible. Even though he didn't feel the cold, the horse looked positively miserable. His head was hung down, and he looked at them pitifully.

"Yes. And really smart. Don't worry. You won't have to go near my father at all."

That seemed to cheer Ethan up a bit, but they were still not doing well. Sapphire hadn't planned on taking so long to get home. She had not brought any food, or extra clothes. Ethan had to stay in his worgen body less he freeze to death, and Sapphire knew her body wasn't going to last much longer out in the open. Curling up against Ni'kua and Ethan only helped her a little.

That night, Ethan dug another hole for Sapphire and she spent it shivering into his black fur. Her partially blinded eye was starting to hurt, and slowly Sapphire was losing all sight in it. She didn't say anything to Ethan. He looked like he had enough problems. Every single time he had to look at his furry, clawed hands he was disgusted by it. One time, he took his anger out on a lone ghoul, ripping it to shreds. After that, Sapphire had only gotten near him when she had to. Sometimes he looked like he wanted to kill her, though when that happened Ni'kua stepped in between them and whined until Ethan got a hold of himself. The sooner Sapphire was home, the better.

The next day was worse. Soon Sapphire's head felt like it was splitting, and it was hard to concentrate. Sapphire momentarily forgot where she was. She couldn't feel anything. So numb with cold was she, that Sapphire barely noticed when her grip loosened, and she fell off of Invincible. She closed her eyes, trembling.

Then something shook her, and she opened her eyes in fear. Ethan's muzzled face came into her poor vision. Sapphire stared at his large teeth in confusion. They were as sharp as daggers and protruded out of his muzzle. Sapphire wondered dimly if he was going to eat her. But Ethan's green eyes were filled with worry.

"Are you okay?" He demanded.

Sapphire nodded. Then, she passed out.

* * *

This was not good. Ethan shook Sapphire again. She didn't respond, laying there limply. To his horror, Ethan saw that her skin was turning blue. Invincible whinnied, and stomped around in agitation. Ni'kua looked around warily, growling.

There was no way for Sapphire to ride the undead horse. He looked around, wondering where they were. That was when he noticed the large metal structure in front of them. Ethan looked up at the wall, mouth gaping. It was a dark imposing wall of sharp saronite. Aldur'thar hadn't seemed so disturbing, mostly because Ethan had been too busy trying to keep close to Sapphire and the horse so the gatherings of undead didn't pile onto him and rip him to pieces.

The good news was it was very close. But that was the only good news. It was surrounded by undead, and undead dragons flew overhead. He heard one occasionally roar at another.

Not only was there masses upon masses of undead, but Sapphire was unconscious. Ethan doubted she could ride upon Invincible's back anymore. That left only one option, which was that Ethan would have to carry her. He didn't trust handing her off to any random undead so he would actually have to go up to the Citadel's front door. And he wouldn't just be allowed to leave after that.

But what could he do? To abandon Sapphire was a heartless, selfish move. The horse definitely wouldn't help him after that anyway.

So, Ethan gently picked Sapphire up, cradling her in his large arms. Maybe as he walked, the close contact with his fur might keep Sapphire warm enough.

The weather didn't give up its fight as Ethan struggled to keep going. However, Ethan did make progress. Eventually he was at the large metal structure that kept Icecrown Citadel enclosed from the rest of Icecrown. Ethan had drawn a crowd of undead, who had thought this had been some kind of suicidal creature. But Invincible stayed close, snorting angrily whenever an undead got close. Ni'kua snapped at one particularly curious ghoul, who then fearfully fled.

Ethan was disgusted as the undead leered at him. Most of them had exposed organs or torn limbs. Even as he walked past, one undead's eye popped out and fell to the ground. The worgen boy recoiled in horror.

Ni'kua trotted ahead, growling. A frostwyrm landed just as Ethan got to the gate. He took a step back, terrified. The ground shook as the undead dragon came forward. Ethan stood there, paralyzed with fear.

The dragon lowered his head down and looked at Sapphire in the worgen's arms. A deep growl came from the bony frostwyrm. Ethan growled back. Surprisingly, the dragon slowly turned away, and walked off.

Still wary and freaked out, Ethan made his way through the gate. He looked around in horror.

Icecrown Citadel was dark an imposing from far away. It was all Ethan could do to not run away in terror. Invincible trotted forward, quickly leaving out of sight. The undead horse had abandoned Ethan.

"Fuck..."

He quickly moved forward toward the Citadel's steps. The storm wasn't affecting the open area around the Citadel, which made Ethan think it wasn't a normal storm. In his arms, Sapphire moaned.

Ethan took Sapphire to the steps leading up to the Citadel. He left her there, and turned to leave. Several deathknights approached him, their swords gleaming.

* * *

Sapphire woke up on cold saronite. She groaned, opening both her blinded eye and her normal one. She sat up, and saw Ethan was surrounded by deathknights. She gasped.

"Ethan! No, Leave him alone!" She demanded.

One deathknight looked at her. "And why should we listen to you, bitch?"

Sapphire glared at him. He instantly shrunk away from her, and Sapphire thought she had actually intimidated him. But he was looking up above her. She turned.

Her father stood halfway down the steps of the Citadel, and as she looked on, descended down the rest. She didn't feel at all afraid of him anymore. She stood her ground as even the other deathknights retreated, and stared straight at him. Ethan backed away, looking around for any way to escape.

The Lich King came to stop at the same steps that Sapphire was at. She glared at him. He stood there impassively for a moment, then spoke.

"You came back," He commented dryly.

"I was taken against my will," Sapphire responded.

"And asked your mother to take your collar off," Her father retorted. Sapphire scowled.

"Like you would have ever done it!"

The Lich King grabbed her by the throat, but did not squeeze. "I might have released you eventually once you'd stopped your ridiculous thoughts of leaving the Scourge."

"Liar. You would have kept that thing on me forever," Sapphire snarled.

Her father did not hurt or reprimand her, which shocked her. He let go of her throat, and turned to the witnesses. To the deathknights, he commanded them to leave. Ethan looked back as they left. It wouldn't have surprised Sapphire if he had fled then, but he didn't. Ni'kua glared at the Lich King, fur on his neck raised and teeth bared.

"Whether or not I would have is of no consequence. You came back. Why?" The Lich King demanded. Sapphire folded her arms.

"I came back for my friends," Sapphire said. It was true. If the mortals were going to take down her father, she at least wanted to help Rot and the others from dying. To suggest she had come to warn her father would make him laugh.

"That's all? Were you going to take them away and start your own little Scourge? A plaguehound puppy, a dimwitted gargoyle, a few friendly spiders, and Gluth? Gluth would be the only one worthwhile in that assortment."

Sapphire had enough of him. "I was also going to warn you about the mortals! They are going to attack the Citadel."

"Do you honestly think I don't know that?"

"Did you know that Darion Morgraine is here?" Sapphire asked.

Obviously he hadn't. He grabbed Sapphire by the arm. "I knew he was hiding somewhere. Did you see him?"

"Yes. Spoke to him too," Sapphire said, hoping that would intrigue him even more. It did.

"Tell me what happened. And tell me about anything else you saw," Her father commanded, but Sapphire just shook her head defiantly. She smiled.

"You don't get something for nothing."

There was silence. Then, her father started laughing. Sapphire expected him to hurt her again, but he didn't.

"What do you want, sweetheart? For me not to kill the worgen over there?" He asked in amusement. Sapphire knew he was grinning under his helm.

"Yes! Don't kill him, and I'll tell you what Darion Mograine said to me."

"I highly doubt that whatever he said is worth that dog's life, but I'll indulge you since you willingly returned to me."

Her father grabbed her arm, and looked back at Ethan. Sapphire saw several deathknights return. Ethan snarled at them, but one hit him hard in the head with the pommel of his sword. He fell to the ground, whimpering. Sapphire cried out.

"Take him to a cell."

Sapphire looked at him in horror. "No! I thought-"

"I said I wouldn't kill him. You didn't ask me to let him go, not that I would. He'll be useful in the mines."

That was not what she had wanted. Sapphire struggled in her father's grip.

"Leave Ethan alone! He helped me when he didn't have to!" Sapphire pleaded.

"For that, I won't kill him yet. Now, come with me. That eye needs to be fixed."


	39. Chapter 39

It did not take long for Sapphire's weakness from before to come back. She barely took two steps before she collapsed. Surprisingly gentle, her father picked her up and carried her into the Citadel. Sapphire didn't complain, though his armor was icy to the touch. More than anything, Sapphire wanted to curl up under a blanket and go to sleep.

Her father took her through Sword's Rest. Sapphire looked for Marwyn's body, but it was nowhere to be found. Her father seemed to read her thoughts.

"Marwyn and Falric have been brought back despite their incompetence, but they are not here right now. You can thank your mother for causing their deaths."

Sapphire frowned and said nothing. She wanted to see Marwyn again, check to see he was okay. But her father still seemed edgy about Marwyn, so she decided to ask later.

Before he took Sapphire to her room, her father did let her have some bread and water. A cultist brought her the food, as well as some warmer clothing. Sapphire inquired about where Rot, Tibbles, and all her spiders were, but her father told her she would get to see them later. That wasn't what Sapphire wanted to hear, but she decided not to press the issue. She just hoped they were all okay.

After eating and warming up in the new clothes, Sapphire didn't need to be carried. She followed behind the Lich King as he escorted her to her room. An undead doctor waited in there. He introduced himself as Doctor Shackleblood, but Sapphire really didn't care what his name was. At least he was a mostly intact undead and didn't look too insane like some of the other "doctors." After Sapphire sat down on her old bed, the undead instantly started inspecting her injured eye. She recoiled back at first, but let him do it. At least her father didn't just leave her alone with the undead. Sapphire winced as the undead's bony hands touched her face. She couldn't see anything in it anymore, and told the doctor as much. He seemed impressed the eye was in such "good" condition.

"That's because my _mother _saved it," Sapphire said spitefully. Her father did not react, much to her disappointment. Maybe saying Jaina's name would have irritated him more, but it was too late for Sapphire to change it now. The doctor wisely said nothing about that. He examined it a few seconds more before turning to the Lich King.

"The eye is salvageable, but it's not really worth the effort to fix it when replacing it would be so much easier," The doctor said.

Sapphire jumped back. "Excuse me?"

The undead looked at her reassuringly. "Oh, it won't be a problem. I have plenty of eyes for you to choose from and removing this one will be fast and relatively painless!"

That did not sit well with Sapphire. She hopped up from her bed and backed away. "No! You're not going to replace my eye! I'd rather just stay blind!"

The doctor looked over to the Lich King with a knowing look on his face.

"What do you wish, master? I can keep her sedated during the operation."

Horror dawned upon Sapphire. Just imagining her eye being removed and replaced with another made her feel like vomiting. And the fact that she would have no say in it made it worse. She looked at her father pleadingly. The Lich King stayed silent for a moment, obviously thinking it over.

His answer was short. "Fix the original. Otherwise I'll have to hear about it for an eternity."

Then he left Sapphire alone with the doctor. He rummaged through a chest he'd brought with him, and held out a syringe. The undead smiled cheerfully at Sapphire.

"Would you like to be sedated anyway? This will be much more painful than replacing it and I know you mortals are sensitive to even minor pain. "

Sapphire really didn't want to, but she was weakened by the trip and weary. Maybe a few hours out would do her good. On the other hand, her father might have just said what he did to trick her. After she was sedated, the doctor could and would do anything the Lich King told him and Sapphire could not do anything. But Sapphire's exhaustion proved too much for her as a sudden wave of nausea washed over her. She clutched her head, and just nodded.

"Fine. But if you do anything to me, I'll make you regret it."

The doctor smiled. "Don't you worry. Both you and your eye will be good in no time."

Sapphire hoped he was being sincere.

* * *

Ethan snarled, and banged his shoulder against the cell door. All Ethan got was a bruised shoulder. He collapsed against the door, growling. Ni'kua came over to him and licked his muzzle. Ethan sighed.

"Well, this isn't the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'd have to say this is the worst so far. What do you think is going to happen to me, boy?" Ethan asked the dog.

Ni'kua whined, and just curled up next to Ethan. The worgen looked at the small cell he was in. Stains covered the metal floor. Chains hung empty on the walls. Ethan was grateful he had no cell companion to show him what he was in for. The undead probably thought the worgen was too dangerous to keep with another prisoner. He might kill one prematurely, and ruin their fun.

No one knew where Ethan was, besides Sapphire. How she had stood up against the Lich King and still lived, Ethan didn't know. It surely wasn't because she was his daughter. The Lich King didn't seem a forgiving type for any being, undead or not. Maybe he intended to torture Sapphire for her impotence later. The boy hoped not, but Sapphire's eye seemed evidence enough to her father's cruelty. Ethan doubted that injury was just an accident.

A few hours later of Ethan worrying about himself and Sapphire, the door opened. Ethan stood up to his full height, which would be terrifying to any living human. But the two deathknights that came in only looked mildly impressed. The older of the two smirked.

"Hey, Marwyn. Looks like we've got a dog that thinks he's a wolf. Can I have this one?"

Ethan's ears perked up and looked at the younger deathknight. "You're Marwyn?"

The deathknight scowled. "Yes. Do I know you?"

"Sapphire mentioned you!" Ethan exclaimed. Maybe this deathknight could help him.

Marwyn looked shocked. "You know Sapphire? Is she all right? How do you know her?"

"Well, she's alive at least. It's a long story."

"I have time. Falric, go torture someone else," The deathknight snapped. Falric looked at his companion darkly.

"Fine...But I get straight at the kid once you are done."

He left, leaving Marwyn alone with Ethan and Ni'kua. Slowly, Ethan told the deathknight what he knew. The deathknight became more distressed as the story went on. The worgen spoke of meeting Sapphire before in Dalaran, then meeting her at the Argent tournament. He spoke of Jaina and Lethumo, then about Invincible. He said nothing of Adalger, not really wanting to talk about his monster of a brother. He spoke of the journey to Icecrown Citadel, and Sapphire defending Ethan.

"I suppose I'd be dead if Sapphire had not saved me from the Lich King."

Marwyn had taken to leaning against the wall, and now he stood up straight. He shook his head at Ethan.

"Oh, she didn't save you from him. She only prolonged your mortal existence a tiny bit longer..."


	40. Chapter 40

Sapphire woke up to having her vision completely restored. It was a funny feeling to see out of both eyes. Weakly, Sapphire reached out to touch the bed frame. It was wooden, and it had grooves and swirls in it that Sapphire was now fascinated by. Not only did she look intently at the bed frame, but also at her other possessions. Sapphire quickly opened one of her books, and read it without half her vision blurry or gone completely. Sapphire smiled to herself.

There was another surprise when she picked up her small mirror. The mirror was shattered, but there were still a few pieces that were large enough to look at. Yes, her eye was intact and was indeed the same eye, but her face was also fixed. There was only a tiny scar on her cheek, but it was barely noticeable. She brushed her cheek with her fingers, feeling the soft, smooth skin.

"I did that."

Sapphire whipped around to see her father had entered in silently. She glared at him suspiciously.

He continued. "Flesh is easier to fix than delicate organs like eyes. For that, you needed a specialist."

"Happy to not see your mistake anymore?" Sapphire demanded. He bristled at her impertinence, but Sapphire had grown a backbone. She wasn't afraid of him. At least not when he was far enough away from her.

"That was your mistake, sweetheart. I told you to stay away, but like a small child you ignored me. I would have fixed you sooner, had you not told your mother to remove your collar."

Sapphire scowled. "I hated that thing! How would you feel to have your thoughts invaded by someone else?"

"Oh, dear Sapphire. Sometimes you are truly bereft of basic logic. You 'invaded' my thoughts, and I had no issue with it. Perhaps if you had delved deeper than the surface, you might have actually learned something."

That had not occurred to Sapphire. She didn't know she could have looked into her father's thoughts too deeply. Would she have? He was bad enough on the surface. How dark could his innermost thoughts be? Darker than Sapphire wanted to know.

"Well, I can't now. You are never putting a collar on me again," Sapphire said forcefully.

"Why not?" Her father asked, amused.

The girl folded her arms. "Because I don't want one."

"Wants and needs are two entirely different thing. You might not want it, but it seems like you need it."

Sapphire jumped when he took a step forward. She tried to force herself to stay still when he came over. However, she couldn't stop from trembling. What she didn't expect was what her father did next. He produced a collar, identical to the old one. Sapphire stared in horror, until he took her hand and gave her the collar.

"You have two choices. Take your...friends, and leave. Or stay."

Before Sapphire could even open her mouth, her father turned and left.

He had given her a choice? What did he expect, for Sapphire to suddenly like him and stay with him? Of course she would leave. There wasn't even a doubt.

She flung the collar away in disgust, and left her room.

Rot was found easily. Sapphire just followed the barking, and found Rot trying to antagonize Gluth. The plaguedog was just laying in the middle of the hallway, looking morose. Rot was running around like a maniac. Gluth seemed indifferent.

"Gluth?" Sapphire asked hesitantly.

The plaguedog raised his massive head. The growl he gave her was a happy one, and he quickly stood up. He lumbered over to her and knocked her down with his massive paws. He licked her, covering her in sickly green saliva. Sapphire smiled, and pushed the monstrously sized dog away.

"Guess what, Gluth? We can go live with my mother! You can live in the...marsh, I think it's called. You can kill whatever you want there. Except people. No eating people. You'll like living in a marsh, right?" Sapphire asked, talking to him in a sweet voice.

Gluth tilted his head. Sapphire took that as a yes. She scooped up Rot, and went to find Paz and Fuzz. The spiders were all in their room. They all seemed to be well taken care of, and all became excited to see Sapphire. Several of them, even the aggressive ones, came rushing over to her, grasping her with their multiple legs. Sapphire fell over, and they rubbed up against her. Sapphire giggled as a few small spiders crawled over her. Paz and Fuzz rushed forward, and loved on her.

As soon as she was able to pry herself away from them, Sapphire looked at them all sadly. She wouldn't be able to bring them all with her. They would be left to fight and die.

Tears formed in Sapphire's eyes. She didn't want to leave them! They were the closest things Sapphire had to friends. How could she leave them all? Qualnvrae, Crawly, Tickle, Cavatica, and Palk were just a few of the names Sapphire had given them. She cared about them.

The baby spiders, maybe Sapphire could take. But first she had to find Tibbles and Invincible. And Ethan. She couldn't just abandon the worgen to his fate. He had helped her. Then she also needed to find Nicci. She'd probably bring Lily with her. Sapphire didn't like Lily, but she supposed she could come too.

After finding Tibbles in a corner reading, Sapphire made her way into the dungeons. Gluth, Paz, Fuzz, and Tibbles stayed at the entrance. Knowing how many cells there were, Sapphire approached a warden of the dungeons, a night elf deathknight like Lethumo. The warden quickly recognized Sapphire, and bowed before her. Which was weird, since Sapphire rarely got such respect.

"Uh...I need to find a cell with a worgen called Ethan," Sapphire said hesitantly.

"I know. Your friend, right? This way," The warden said, gesturing for her to follow him.

He led her down the halls of cells. Upon reaching the right one, the warden took out his keys.

"Just so you know...The Scourge will always support you," The warden said.

Sapphire frowned. "What do you mean?"

The night elf smiled. "You are Sapphire Menethil. Even though you want to walk away from us, we will never walk away from you."

A lump formed in Sapphire's throat, and she just nodded. She entered the cell quickly.

A human sat against the wall, but when he looked up Sapphire realized it was Ethan. Next to him, Ni'kua barked. He wore cultist robes, which didn't suit him at all. But it was probably warmer than the thin rags prisoners wore. Sapphire smiled in relief.

"Ethan! Are you okay?"

The boy smiled and stood up. "Yes! For now at least. Are you? Your eye looks much better!"

"Thanks. I'm here to-"

Rot started whining, and squirming in the girl's arms. Sapphire paid him no mind, but Ethan looked down at the puppy. His face grew pale, and he opened his mouth slightly.

"Wen...Wendell? Is that you?"

He took the puppy from Sapphire's arms, a smile forming on his lips. The dog's tail wagged as fast as it could go, and Rot instantly started licking Ethan's face. He whined and barked in happiness. Ethan laughed.

"Oh Wendell! I'm so sorry that my brother killed you. Can you forgive me?"

Rot barked, and licked him some more. Ethan had the widest smile on his face. It made Sapphire feel a bit unhappy. That was her dog. She'd renamed him, and took care of him now. Ethan seemed to sense Sapphire's unhappiness, and looked away from his puppy.

"Sorry. He's your dog now, huh?" Ethan put down Rot, who looked between Sapphire and Ethan. He seemed confused. Ni'kua came over, and sniffed the puppy. He snorted in surprise at the rotting smell, and tilted his head.

Sapphire picked up Rot, frowning. "Yeah, he is my dog. Not that you can't play with him! He was your dog first. Sorry about his stitches. I'm not that great at it."

Rot barked. Ethan seemed to really notice that he was undead.

"He's in better shape than I expected," Ethan admitted, though he did a bit disgusted now that his original surprise was gone. But that didn't stop him from taking back "Wendell" and hugging him. Ni'kua watched rather curiously.

Sapphire let the boy love on Rot a couple more seconds, then cleared her throat.

"We should go. My father is letting us leave and we should go quickly in case he changes his mind."

The boy looked at her with widened eyes. "Really? He's just letting us go?"

Sapphire nodded, and took his hand. They left quickly. No undead stopped them, though a few of them looked at Sapphire sadly. She tried to ignore them.

As soon as they left, Ethan cried out. He'd seen Gluth, which probably would freak out anyone. Gluth snarled hungrily, but Sapphire got between them.

"No! Bad Gluth! No eating my friend!" She said sternly. Gluth growled low in his throat, and backed down. Before Ethan could say anything, Tibbles came forward and grabbed the boy's hand.

"Hello! I'm Tibbles!" The gargoyle said happily.

Ethan stared at the gargoyle. "Uh...Ethan Calwood."

Tibbles perked up. "Calwood? Really? I know that name...Where do I know that name?" He asked himself. He scratched his head, suddenly very confused.

"You don't know Ethan," Sapphire chided. The gargoyle smiled.

"Who's Ethan?"

Sapphire sighed. She would get Tibbles to remember it eventually, but right now she needed to find Nicci and Invincible. She looked at her strange group with amusement. A giant plaguedog, two spiders, a plaguehound puppy, a gargoyle, and a worgen with his pet dog. And Sapphire of course. She was just as weird. The very mortal daughter of an immortal king.

Nicci was nowhere to be found. Sapphire looked in all the places that cultists frequently hung out. She couldn't even find Lily. Ethan suggested that they weren't in the Citadel, but Sapphire knew otherwise. They had to be there somewhere.

But after an hour of searching, Sapphire didn't want to stay any longer. All the undead looked upset as she walked past them. She took her group outside and down the stairs. Tibbles looked around.

"What are we going to do now?" He asked.

"Leave," Sapphire said simply.

Tibbles blinked. "When will we come back? I found another book just yesterday and I haven't been able to read it yet."

Sapphire turned to him. "I'm sorry, Tibbles. We aren't coming back. But don't worry, my mother-"

Tibbles didn't listen to her anymore. The gargoyle looked affronted. "Not coming back! Oh no, no, no! I don't want to leave! This place is much better than Naxxramas was. I need to read that book!"

With that, he flew off. Sapphire cried out for him to come back, but the gargoyle didn't listen. Sapphire stood there, unsure of what to do.

"Just leave him. I'm sure he'll be fine," Ethan said helpfully, but Sapphire just shook her head.

"I can't do this! I wish Marwyn was still alive. Maybe he could have helped me," Sapphire said sadly.

Ethan blinked. "What are you talking about? Marwyn is still alive."

"What!" Sapphire demanded. She suddenly smiled.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know. I just know he came to talk to me, and convince...Falric, I think, to not torture me."

Sapphire instantly ran back into the Citadel, leaving behind the others. She went to Sword's Rest, where Marwyn was sitting on the floor, playing cards with Falric. Sapphire rushed at him, and knocked him down. Falric cursed profusely.

"Damn it, you little bitch. You messed up the game!"

Sapphire let go of Marwyn, and hugged Falric too. He recoiled back in disgust, but Sapphire clung to him tightly. He pushed her off violently, growling. Sapphire just turned back to Marwyn and hugged him again. He actually returned the hug, unlike Falric.

"You guys were dead!" Sapphire said, crying.

"Yeah, and we're part of the Scourge! We don't stay dead for long, idiot!" Falric retorted.

"Falric, stop being an ass. She didn't know whether or not the Master would bring us back. I was surprised he brought me back," Marwyn replied, stroking Sapphire's hair comfortingly. Falric snorted.

"Me too. You're pretty pathetic. It's only because of Sapphire you are here."

Sapphire looked up from her hug. "What do you mean, only because of me?"

Falric rolled his eyes, and started picking the cards up. He put them all together before answering with a snarl.

"Yes. The Lich King said the only reason he brought Mar back was because you would have wanted that."

The girl looked back at Marwyn. "Really?"

"Yes. He didn't seem that happy about it."

Sapphire thought about that. Her father had brought back Marwyn just because of her. She had already had the collar removed by then, but her father had still done what he knew she would have wanted.

"I will...be right back. I need to talk to someone."

She hoped her father was easier to find than Nicci.


	41. Chapter 41

The Lich King was where Sapphire had last seen him before Lethumo had taken her onto the airship. He stood looking at the pile of rocks that blocked the balcony. Sapphire approached him, scowling.

He didn't respond to her appearance. Sapphire wondered what she should say to him. She hated him, and it would be very satisfying to push him off the edge, if only she could. But she had to know.

"Dad," Sapphire said, almost hoping he would ignore her.

"Come to say goodbye?" He asked snarkily.

Here was it. Time to ask. He had not looked back at her, and that somehow made it easier to speak so blatantly.

"Do you care about me as a person, or just the small part of me that is you? Or do you even care about me at all?" Sapphire demanded. It was the only thing Sapphire could come up with. She doubted he would take the question seriously.

Her father looked back toward Sapphire, which caused a chill to go down her spine. He then moved to casually lean against the icy wall, and responded with a question of his own. "What do you think?"

She didn't have to think long. "You only care about yourself. I'm just a plaything and when I finally break you'll toss aside. There's not a single piece of you that cares what happens to me. When I was taken, you weren't mad that I might be imprisoned and tortured. No, you were mad about someone else taking your toy. And if you couldn't have me, no one could so you tried to make me kill myself. You are a child, and a truly selfish one at that."

"Interesting analysis. But tell me...If I were as selfish as you say, why would I fix your eye and give you freedom of choice?"

Sapphire opened her mouth to respond, but then realized she didn't know why he had done that. Why would he heal her, and just let her go? Had he honestly thought she would pick him over freedom?

"I don't know. Because you're insane?" Sapphire snapped.

"A distinct possibility, but no. Come now, child. Surely you have some idea?"

Sapphire was growing frustrated. Like she had said, he was a child. Playing with her for his own amusement. She turned away from him.

"Obviously I'm wasting time with you."

"So impatient. I thought I was the selfish child?" Her father chuckled.

Sapphire walked away from him angrily. He didn't seem to go after her. She went to her room, despite knowing that Ethan was waiting on her. But she collapsed onto her bed and started crying. She stayed there, unmoving.

The door opened silently, but Sapphire saw a shadow on the wall. She knew who it was. She heard him come closer, and felt an ice cold hand on her arm. Sapphire unhappily sat up, staring down at her father's boots.

"What do you want?" She asked, sniffling.

"Why are you so conflicted, child? You want the best of both worlds. You want the comfort and familiarity of the Darkness, but you want to experience ...love and freedom. You want the Light," Her father said. The last parts he said with disgust.

Sapphire looked up at him, scowling. "I don't want the Light! I just want...I don't know!"

She started to cry again. The Lich King took her arm, and pulled her up into a standing position. He then pulled her into his arms. Sapphire felt him stroke her hair, and she stopped crying.

"You think you know everything, but you don't. I don't care about you, you say? I disagree. I am making the world better for you. Once the mortals pick their champions, they will march upon the Citadel. And I will kill them all. The world's best heroes. I will kill them, then turn them on their allies. The world will become shrouded in Darkness after that. You want to leave? Perhaps you could find somewhere to hide out for a while, but I am going to own the world. Would you not prefer to share it with me? I will give you whatever you want, unlike your mother. If I didn't conquer the world for some reason, do you know what would happen to you?"

Sapphire didn't want to listen to him. She had thought her mother's offer had been the best thing in the world. Now he was ruining it.

"Your mother would train you as a mage. Teach you how to rule that pathetic city of hers. She'll die eventually, and leave you on your own. Jaina might be able to hide your identity for a while, but it will eventually be exposed. Do you want to be hunted and put down like a beast?"

Sapphire shook her head.

"Then it is a good thing that will never happen."

Confusion was all Sapphire felt. It was such a dilemma, to leave or stay. Her father was a monster, but he did so he cared a tiny bit for her. He had brought back Marwyn for her. He had seemed outraged at her being taken away. He had healed her face and eye after losing his temper with her. Sapphire admitted she had ignored her father, which had caused his outburst of anger. The wound was her fault, not really his. Even now, he was holding her as she cried. What was she to do? Was there anything she could do?

She sighed, "Fine...I'll stay with you."

The Lich King visibly relaxed, and stroked Sapphire's hair again. "Such a good girl. That will make everything easier on you and me."

Cold touched Sapphire's neck, and felt her father put the collar around her neck. It clicked shut. The Lich King's mind brushed hers, and Sapphire listened to his thoughts. He had known she would agree to stay. Before it might have angered Sapphire to be so manipulated, but she had resigned to it.

_You are mine,_ He said triumphantly. Sapphire did not disagree. _  
_

Out of the corner of her eye, Sapphire saw her father place the Helm on her bed. He then took her chin with his hand and lifted it up. She looked at his grey face, knowing what he intended.

Her father leaned in and kissed Sapphire on the lips. Sapphire didn't struggle. She let him do it. In fact, Sapphire returned the kiss. That goaded the Lich King, and he grabbed the back of her neck forcefully. She had only kissed Lethumo and Zyperias, but this was much different. She felt her father's feelings wash over her, and she knew he enjoyed it. Sapphire wasn't sure if she liked it or not.

_Now that you show your loyalty, I think you deserve a reward._

* * *

Ethan was nervous when Sapphire didn't show for a while. Marwyn showed up soon, and he looked at the deathknight warily. Suddenly, Gluth stood up and walked off. Tibbles flew off and the two spiders scurried back up the stairs to the Citadel. Only Rot stayed where he was, whining in confusion. It was now just Ethan, Rot, and the deathknight. He had been kind to Ethan before, but he was an undead. He could turn in an instant. Ethan wondered how painful it would be to be killed with a runeblade. He was pretty sure runeblades stole souls.

The deathknight gave Ethan a pitying look. "Sorry, Ethan. Sapphire has decided to stay. You can take Invincible and go."

Marwyn gestured, and Ethan turned to see Invincible trotting toward him. It sounded great, but the thought of Sapphire staying at the most horrifying place in the world worried Ethan. She had seemed so eager to leave before.

"Is she staying here of her own will?" Ethan demanded.

Marwyn shuffled awkwardly. "Yes. Please, for the sake of your soul...Leave. Forget about Sapphire. She'll be fine."

The horse came over to them, and rubbed his head against Ethan's shoulder. He frowned, pushing the undead thing away.

"With all due respect, I would like to stay. To protect Sapphire."

The older man sighed. "Protect Sapphire...That's what I was supposed to do. And now look what's happened. Very well. Light have mercy on you, boy."

The thought was terrifying, but he couldn't just let Sapphire go like that. She didn't belong in the Scourge, no matter what she might think. If he could help her in any way, he would. Besides, what did he have to go back to? His brother's torture every night? His parents turning a blind eye to how much of a monster Adalger was?

The Lich King couldn't be that worse.


	42. Chapter 42

So, my two writer friends really love this story. In fact, they have been giving me lots of evil suggestions. Review or PM if you want me to use my friends' very depraved ideas and make this story much, much darker. I'm not going to give anything away, but their ideas are eviler than all that I've done as of yet.

* * *

The encounter with the Lich King did not go well. Ethan had met him after spending another night in his cell. He had wanted to get it over with, but the Lich King had been too busy that night. Sapphire was nowhere to be found, so Marwyn had taken him to his cell. At least he had been given a blanket and a small pillow.

The next morning, the Lich King had came to him. He had seen the Lich King before, but in the close quarters of his cell Ethan had nearly passed out from fear.

The fear was mostly unfounded. The Lich King had been in a supposedly good mood. He found it amusing that Ethan had stayed. Even more so, the Lich King had been very intrigued upon hearing Ethan's full name. His voice had taken on a sinister tone after that, which made Ethan prefer his brother over him. After the initial torment was over, the Lich King was determined to know what Ethan planned. Ethan had planned nothing of course, and he didn't know how to speak confidently to the most evil creature he had ever encountered.

Getting no response, the Lich King had told Ethan what was going to happen to him. He was to report to Captain Marwyn and see how useful he was. If he were decent, he would be killed and turned into a deathknight. The Lich King sounded like it was a gift he was giving to Ethan, when it really wasn't. Ethan finally plucked up the courage to ask about Sapphire, which seemed to have amused the Lich King. The Lich King had left without an answer.

So, Ethan was standing in front of Marwyn. Falric was off to the side, watching how things would play out.

Ethan fought Marwyn with the plain sword given to him. He had never been that good at swordplay and a few minutes later, Ethan lay on the floor, beaten hard by the deathknight. He grunted in pain, ignoring Marwyn's offer to help him up. Falric was laughing.

"That dog's bark is bigger than his bite," The deathknight said, a vicious grin on his face.

Ethan ignored him, and lunged back at Marwyn. The deathknight parried it easily, then with a quick move, succeeded in disarming Ethan. The sword flew out of Ethan's hand, and he cursed.

"I'd be good against a normal soldier! Not some undead bastard," Ethan snarled.

To his credit, Marwyn didn't react to the insult. "Probably. And I'm sure those claws and teeth of your worgen form would be better to use."

Ethan looked away. "I never want to go into that form ever again. Thank you for getting me some actual clothes."

Falric muttered darkly, and left. That made Ethan feel better. Of the two, Marwyn seemed the most welcoming to Ethan. He pitied Ethan and wished he had not stayed. But he didn't know how little hope Ethan had for his future. Either he stays with Sapphire, someone who actually accepted him, or he live a life of solitude in the middle of the wilderness. Ni'kua would have always stayed with him, but a dog was not good company for keeping your sanity.

The dog was lying nearby, chewing on a bone. Marwyn had found him it, showing more humanity than Ethan thought possible for a deathknight. Apparently he had been the one to raise Sapphire, so he couldn't be that bad.

Marwyn picked up the boy's sword, and tossed it to him.

"Again, little Dog. When I'm done with you, I'll probably be charged with animal abuse," Marwyn said. Unlike Falric's mocking tone, Marwyn had said it to make Ethan smile. Which he did.

* * *

Not for the first time, Sapphire stroked her cheek. It was smooth under her fingers, as if it had never been torn. Unlike her eye, this was a more physical reassurance that she was no longer maimed. She couldn't touch her eye like she could touch her cheek.

Sapphire was with her spiders, as if nothing had happened. She woke up in her father's bed, ate breakfast in the cultists' kitchen, and fed her spiders. Her spiders loved on her, having missed her so terribly. Even the ones that didn't like being touched cuddled up against her. Her clothes were soon covered in silk, as was her hair.

All the while, her father's mind was a constant presence. Sapphire reluctantly listened to his thoughts more frequently. Apparently, the Argent Tournament was almost done. Her father's enthusiasm was affecting Sapphire, and she too wanted them to go ahead and attack. That way, everything would be fall into place. Her father had offered Theramore to Sapphire. She had wanted to go and be with her mother, so her father was going to grant it. She hoped her mother would see wisdom in surrendering.

Of course, Sapphire could go capture any city she wanted. Falric had gladly offered his services. Raiding a city after years of being in the Citadel...Falric would be like Sapphire in a room full of honey. Of course she had accepted his offer. Their relationship seemed to have improved drastically. The deathknight was still cruel to her, but it was more of a teasing nature.

After feeding her spiders, Sapphire thought it would be nice to find Ethan. Her father had confronted him that morning, to which Sapphire listened into. Ethan had decided to stay for her. That was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for her, and she was determined to make sure he was okay. He had already expressed disdain for the Scourge, but maybe he could change his mind.

Sapphire found him bruised and beaten next to Marwyn. One of his hands was full of snow, and pressed against one of his eyes. She gasped.

"Ethan! Are you okay?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah...Fine. Marwyn just caught me off guard."

Sapphire felt her father's irritation, and knew it stemmed from Sapphire's concern for Ethan. She really didn't care, and expressed that much to the Lich King. Ethan was her friend, her only real friend.

_I spare him only because of your request. Don't make me regret it,_ Her father growled.

Sapphire cheerfully replied, _You won't. I get a friend, and you eventually get a deathknight out of him._

_You care too much about him. Those who follow the heart find that it will bleed, _The Lich King said.

Knowing how right he was, Sapphire apologized and only received the barest of acknowledgment for it. She sat down next to Ethan.

"Thank you by the way...For staying. You didn't have to," She said to him.

Ethan smirked. "Thanks for saving me from being killed and turned into a rug."

"I saved you from becoming a rug but damned you to be a deathknight," Sapphire responded, hugging herself. As she did so, she heard the voices of the Lich King and a few others. The last day of the tournament was today. Then, they would be headed to Icecrown. Sapphire wondered how long the fighting would be.

"I'm already a monster. A deathknight doesn't sound...too bad. Marwyn is pitching it really well," Ethan said unhappily.

Sapphire looked at Marwyn. He shrugged. Ethan was very unhappy, and Sapphire wished he could make him feel better. It was a small gesture, but Sapphire gave Ethan a hug. He leaned his head against hers.

"Thanks, Sapphire. I needed that."

After a couple of minutes of small talk, the Lich King ordered Sapphire away. She obediently left, but not before she looked back at Ethan. He caught her eye, and smiled.

She felt her father's irritation increasing, but some of it was not entirely caused by her. She looked to where he was, and was surprised to see he was in his private torture chamber. Sapphire tried to see who he was torturing. A mental shield blocked Sapphire's view.

By the time she arrived at the torture chamber, her father was done with whatever he had been doing. Sapphire looked up at him curiously.

"Why can't I know who you were torturing?"

The Lich King strode off, forcing Sapphire to follow like a dog.

"Because. He irks me."

"Who?" Sapphire asked, flinching when her father turned to her.

"None of your concern. I brought you back to explain a few things."

Expectantly, Sapphire stood there silently. Her father took her to the Shadow Throne, his demeanor chilly and distant. He went over to the throne, and sat down.

"When the mortals arrive, you are to stay in your room, understand?" He rumbled.

Sapphire nodded, gulping. A nagging feeling crept up inside of her, but her father didn't notice it.

"Marwyn, Falric, and that pet worgen of yours will guard you, but Falric is in charge. You obey him, and no one else."

It was an odd command, but Sapphire nodded again. Her father felt Sapphire's unease.

_What is it, child?_

"I...I just want to know if there's any chance of-"

_Defeat? No, you stupid girl. Get that out of your head. Your naivete is grating,_ The Lich King commanded.

Sapphire scowled. "No. I'd like to entertain the idea of you dying, that way if it does happen, I won't be caught off guard. And your arrogance is rather unbecoming."

With an unreadable expression, her father folded his arms and leaned back into the Throne. His thoughts were less protected, and Sapphire knew that he found her childish worries to be too bothersome to ignore.

"Fine then, dear Sapphire. I shall give you something to help you worry less," He laughed.

He rose from the Throne, and left. Sapphire just stood in the middle of the room as he went down the hall to his private chambers. Sapphire looked over at the Shadow Throne. This was the only one she had been allowed to see. If she had ever tried to sneak up to the Frozen Throne, her father would have killed her. No one was allowed to go up there.

It was a lot less dangerous to sit on the Shadow Throne, which she decided to do at that moment. She was tired, and had not completely recovered from her journey. She sat down on the dark throne. It had been made for her father, but it felt right to sit in it. She looked around the room, wondering how it'd feel like to be in a position of power. From this point of view, it seemed grand.

When the Lich King returned, he had a small object in one hand. He did not react to Sapphire sitting on the Shadow Throne, but instead held up the object. Sapphire took it, frowning when she realized it was nothing but a small, jeweled container. She tried opening it, but it was sealed shut. She looked up.

"What's this supposed to be?" She demanded. It looked like a stupid trinket to her.

Her father seemed very pleased with himself.

"You will find out. Kel'thuzad will speak to you eventually. Perhaps his assurances will quell your misguided fears? Or would you prefer a teddy bear?" He mocked, but it fell on deaf ears. Sapphire heard the name Kel'thuzad and nothing else, knowing exactly what the container held.

Sapphire stared at the Lich King in shock. Even as he walked away, Sapphire was too surprised to move. It was only when her stomach growled with hunger that her head finally cleared. She stood up weakly, and clutched the phylactery tightly.


	43. Chapter 43

_Fascinating._

Sapphire heard the voice, and thought at first it was her father's. She had been sleeping, but the voice in her head had woken her up. She sleepily looked around her room. Ethan was in the corner of the room, sleeping against the wall. Rot was asleep his lap, whining. Ni'kua had taken to Sapphire's bed, and his warm body was pressed up against hers.

The girl yawned, and hugged the phylactery tighter. She hadn't let it go since the Lich King had given it to her. If she lost it, her father would be furious and certainly kill her. That was not the main reason she was being so protective of it. She knew how important a phylactery was, and she didn't want anything bad to happen to it.

_You are different than I thought. Intelligent in some respects, though your sheltered life has made you ignorant of the outside world. You could be a powerful undead if trained properly._

The girl had never heard the voice before, but she knew it could only be one person. Kel'thuzad. He seemed a lot nicer than she imagined.

_What are you talking about? _Sapphire asked.

_Why, I'm saying how intriguing you are, Sapphire Menethil. A child raised by undead. Truly a rarity.  
_

_Thanks... _Sapphire thought, feeling uncertain. Maybe it was just because she was sleepy. Had he been studying her thoughts while she had been sleeping? Had he started the second she held the phylactery? She wouldn't know, but it felt more invasive than what her father did. At least she felt it when her father perused her mind.

Thinking of her father, she reached out for him but found nothing. She blinked in surprise. Reaching up to touch her collar, Sapphire only felt bare skin. Sometime when she had been asleep, her father had taken off her collar. Why? Was it so he didn't have to deal with her until later, after all the mortals are dead?

Sapphire stood up. Ni'kua sat up, and yawned. He shook himself and hopped off the bed. Without waking Ethan, Sapphire left the room with Ni'kua at her heels. She couldn't stop him, and she was comforted by the living dog's presence.

As soon as she got to the Shadow Throne, Falric and Marwyn were there.

"Go back to your room," Falric commanded. Sapphire stood there, alarmed.

"Are we under attack?"

The main part of the Citadel is, not here. Go back to your bedroom and wait," Marwyn said, gentler than Falric had.

"But-"

Falric growled. "Now!"

Chastened, Sapphire retreated back toward her room. But she didn't go into her room. She went to a place that surely only she and her father knew about. Her father knew everything about his Citadel, and Sapphire had found it years ago.

She moved into the darkness near her father's room. She slipped through a small slit in the saronite wall. It was almost indistinguishable from the rest of the wall.

A small tunnel went from the Lich King's private quarters straight to the main part of the Citadel. It was too small for anyone but someone thin like Sapphire or a skeleton to go through.

She crawled through the metal tunnel. It was cramped and uncomfortable, and Sapphire was glad when she saw the exit. The noises were not comforting. Cries and shouts echoed through the tunnel. Swords clashed against swords. Sapphire went to the entrance of the tunnel. She saw mortals fighting undead.

Right in front of Sapphire, a ghoul lunged at a soldier and ripped out the man's throat. Blood sprayed out, and Sapphire recoiled as the man collapsed to the ground in front of her. She whimpered. More mortals were killed, some eviscerated horribly. Undead fell too, much to Sapphire's distress.

She left the safety of the tunnel, and meant to leave Kel'thuzad's phylactery there in the small hole. But as soon as she did, she realized that there was a tiny chance of it being found. So, Sapphire snatched it back up protectively, and went toward the Spire that led up to the Frozen throne, where her father surely was. She looked up at the thick ice column that went straight through the middle of the Citadel. She wondered if she could even make it all the way up there.

No one saw Sapphire quickly ascend the Spire, clinging to the side of the ice. She rarely went up physically to the Frostwing, where all the cute baby frostwryms were. Usually she would use easier routes. Only a few minutes in of walking did Sapphire stop, panting. The ice was steeper than it looked, and Sapphire had never been the strongest.

Sapphire stayed where she was, sitting on the cold ice.

_Child, what are you doing?  
_

_Going to see my father, _Sapphire thought.

_You shouldn't. He will be furious to see you disobey him so easily. Or do you enjoy it? _Kel'thuzad asked, intrigued._  
_

Anger flashed through Sapphire's head. _I only disobey him on stupid stuff!_

_Perhaps you should spend your energy on more fruitful efforts. You and I will have to work on that, otherwise you'll be exactly like your father. We don't need two of you. _The lich's voice sounded slightly amused._  
_

Sapphire grew silent, and felt very relaxed. Not a single sound of fighting had made its way up to where the girl had stopped to rest. It was a bit odd. If her father were up at the Frozen Throne, wouldn't the soldiers be trying to make their way up it?

After she had recovered, Sapphire started heading back up. She climbed up the icy path, trying not to think about how high she had gone. It was one thing to be standing high up in the saronite Citadel, but the ice seemed unstable as if it were shaking.

Then, a vicious quake wracked the entire Citadel. Sapphire fell backwards, her head smashing into the ice. Her vision went black, though she didn't lose consciousness. Her head pounded, as if someone was hitting the back of her skull with a hammer. There was a warm, wet sensation where her head had collided with the ice. The smell of blood assaulted Sapphire's nose.

She lay there, feeling the ice beneath shudder. Every time she opened her eyes, the light outside burned her eyes and head like fire. It was strange to Sapphire that Kel'thuzad had said nothing to her. But then she noticed that the phylactery was not in her hands.

Panic should have overcome her at such a loss, but Sapphire felt nothing but emptiness. She heard footsteps, a lot of them, come near her. They passed Sapphire without stopping.

How long Sapphire lay there, she didn't know. Hours? Days? It felt like forever. It was only when more footsteps came that Sapphire guessed she was dead. No one would just ignore her like that, would they?

But whoever the feet belonged to, they didn't ignore Sapphire. With great effort, Sapphire opened her eyes a tiny bit. She saw saronite boots, soaked in blood.

"Shackleblood! Here she is!" Falric's voice thundered, causing Sapphire's ears to practically explode.

"Fal..." Sapphire moaned.

"Don't speak. You've lost a lot of blood. Shackleblood! Do something!" Falric snarled.

Fingers touched Sapphire's head, causing it to throb. Some kind of cloth was applied to her head, and she could imagine the blood staining the cloth red.

"Heads bleed easily. This could just be a minor concussion. Captain Falric, we might not be able to move her too much."

"We will have too," The man angrily replied.

Dr. Shackleblood just sighed. He worked on her head some more, cleaning up the blood and examining it. Soon, he started wrapping up her head. A glass vial was placed against her lips, and Sapphire weakly drank. There was not a taste to it at all, just the feel of liquid entering her mouth and going down her throat.

"Captain Falric!" A voice called out. Sapphire moaned at the voice for two reasons. One, it hurt her head. And two, it belonged to Zyperias.

"What?" The deathknight growled.

The San'layn lowered his voice to a whisper, but Sapphire could still hear him. To her, it sounded like he was yelling. "The idiots left the pieces of the sword. Sadly, the body has been taken away."

"We'll deal with that later. Right now, Sapphire needs to be moved."

"Captain-" Dr. Shackleblood started, but Falric interrupted.

"I don't care what you have to do to fix her, but right now we have to leave. Zyperias, will you carry her?"

There was a shuffling, and she felt arms move underneath her. Dr. Shackleblood instructed him to keep Sapphire's head cradled against his arm. Sapphire moaned.

"Phy...phylactery. Lost it..."

"I have it, kid," Falric replied. Sapphire opened her eyes slightly and saw the deathknight had indeed found the phylactery. He carelessly dropped it in her hands. Sapphire clutched it. She closed her eyes again, enjoying the

"Where's Marwyn and Ethan?" Sapphire asked.

She was met with silence. Sapphire's head throbbed.

"Where's Dad?" She demanded. Again, silence. It felt like Sapphire had been stabbed in the heart. Now she knew what Zyperias had meant about a broken sword and missing...body. They had stolen her father's body, and left Frostmourne? The worst part of that was they had just taken her father, no doubt to prevent him from being brought back.

"What's going to happen now?" Sapphire whimpered.

Falric replied, his voice gentler than before. "There's a new Lich King...We can't stay here. We are going to take you somewhere safe for now. Only those undead truly loyal to us are going to be coming. But we can discuss this later. Come on, Zyperias."

The deathknight descended down the Spire, Zyperias and Shackleblood following. Sapphire tried to not throw up. The movement made her extremely nauseous.

Eventually, the potion she had taken started to work, and Sapphire could actually look around without feeling too bad. They had made their way to lowest parts of the Citadel. They kept going, into places Sapphire had never seen before. It turned from saronite to rock. Halls became tunnels. Never could Sapphire had imagined all that had been below the Citadel.

After a short break where Dr. Shackleblood could recheck Sapphire's wound, they delved deeper. The undead doctor had brought a torch, the only light source in the dark caves. Falric kept his sword out, looking around for the smallest danger.

At an intersection, Sapphire saw a few familiar bodies. Gluth growled a greeting at her as her spiders scurried forward. They surrounded the small group of people. Falric only relaxed slightly at the reinforcements.

"Where's Rot and Tibbles?" Sapphire asked, fearing the worst.

"The...gargoyle, has gone ahead to meet with the others. Rot is with your worgen friend and Marwyn. They will not be joining us," Falric said tonelessly.

This did not sit well with Sapphire. "What? Why not? Where are you taking me exactly?"

"Why not bring them? Because we need complete loyalty from everyone we trust. Those two would try to take you to your mother. Take you among the mortals that killed your father! Is that what you want?" Falric snarled.

Sapphire flinched. Tears came into her eyes. It wasn't fair, any of this! Her father was dead! He should have listened to her but he didn't so now he was dead. She almost was glad he was dead. Marwyn and Ethan weren't "trustworthy" by Falric's standards and Sapphire was in no position to protest. She couldn't even walk. Zyperias tried comforting her.

"This is only for your safety, Sapphire. It is only temporary."

The girl looked up at him, wondering whether or not to snap at him. In the end, Sapphire sighed.

"Later, when it's safe, can we find them and bring them back?"

Falric stared at her thoughtfully.

"Yes. Yes, we can."

Sapphire was allowed to rest some more, while she was guarded over Gluth and the spiders. Zyperias had enough foresight to bring some food and water for her. Some bread and dried meat wasn't the best meal Sapphire had received, but it certainly wasn't the worst. When she was done, Zyperias handed her a satchel.

"Here. The pieces of Frostmourne are in it. Best if you wrap up Kel'thuzad's phylactery and put it in there as well."

The lich had been silent up until now, but he did say a few condolences to Sapphire. He didn't seem terribly upset that her father was dead, but that his corpse had been stolen for who knows what. It was somewhat more comforting than anything else had said to her that day, so Sapphire was going to take it.

"I think Sapphire should actually get some sleep before we start off again," Dr. Shackleblood suggested to Falric.

The deathknight sneered, but he looked back at Sapphire. They moved away to speak in private for a few minutes. With an audible growl, Falric came back over.

"Try to go to sleep, Sapphire. You have two hours."

Sapphire nodded, wincing at the pain that resulted. She was about to lay her head down, but was stopped by Zyperias. She just noticed the San'layn looked paler than usual, and very weary.

"Here. You can lie against me. Better than the cave floor."

"No...The rock is fine," Sapphire said, lying down without another comment.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't sleep. But at least she was not dead yet. After the two hours was up, Sapphire was able to walk, if not fast, by herself. Falric pushed her onward down into the deep caverns.


	44. Chapter 44

As the attack happened on Icecrown Citadel, Ethan had been woken up roughly by Marwyn. The deathknight had been in a panic. Sapphire had gone missing, and Falric had just disappeared. Ethan did not care one bit about Falric, but he was concerned about Sapphire. Marwyn and him searched everywhere for her. Ni'kua sniffed around, until he found the small hole in the saronite wall.

Before they could decide what to do, the Lich King was killed. Marwyn had froze in shock at the sudden loss and the strange feeling of freedom. For years, he had never been able to have his thoughts to himself. Now, he could do whatever he wanted. Forced loyalty to the Scourge had disappeared. Marwyn was free.

And so was Sapphire. He had to find her quickly. The Scourge was over. Where they were to go, the deathknight didn't know. He doubted Sapphire's mother would take him in. Nothing but a warm welcome would greet Sapphire, but Marwyn could not go back to society. He was an undead monster. He wouldn't be accepted by mortals. If the Horde and Alliance abandon most of their bases in Northrend, he could find somewhere decent to live out the rest of their existence. Sapphire should have a chance at a normal life.

The main part of the Citadel was clearing out of mortals. Marwyn and Ethan waited until there was no one left, and went off to search for Sapphire. Both undead and mortal bodies were scattered around. Blood and flesh covered the floor. Ethan looked disgusted as they walked through it, but Marwyn was long since immune to such horror. He kicked aside pieces of flesh that were in his way.

Ni'kua was sniffing around, looking for Sapphire. Marwyn wasn't sure if the dog could smell Sapphire, but it was the best way they had to find her.

The dog led them up the Spire. He ran away, toward a pool of blood on the ice. Marwyn's breath caught in his throat. He knelt down at the blood.

"Is that Sapphire's?" Ethan asked worriedly.

He was answered by Ni'kua lying down and whining unhappily. The dog thought Sapphire was dead, but Marwyn knew that not to be true. There wasn't enough blood. And her body would still be there. Any necromancers still alive would be fleeing into hiding. Not resurrecting Sapphire. Marwyn was convinced that she had been rescued, and taken.

"Falric, you bastard...He's taken her."

Can't we go after her?" Ethan asked fervently. He looked at Ni'kua, and pointed at the blood.

"Find!"

Ni'kua sniffed the blood, and sniffed around. He whined. The dog couldn't find any other smells to follow. Ethan looked so forsaken, standing there looking at the blood as if it were Sapphire's corpse.

"We can't just give up!" Ethan whispered.

Marwyn sighed. "For now...We must. Even if we did find her, we would have to fight Falric and whoever else he has with him. He's not stupid enough to go alone. Some other Scourge members that actually like the Scourge."

Ethan nodded weakly. Tears seemed to form in his eyes. Oddly, Marwyn felt some kind of connection with the kid. He was like the deathknight, unlikely to resume any kind of normal life. Th certaintly of isolation wavered.

"Ethan...I know this is an odd request. We are both monsters by mortal standards. I would bet a thousand souls that no one would take us in. Even the Knights of the Ebon Blade would refuse me. So...Would you like to stay with me? Another unwilling killer that you can voice your frustrations too?"

When the boy looked up, he seemed slightly hopeful.

"Sure. As long as we still look for Sapphire on the way. Oh...I forgot about Sapphire's mother. Should we tell her?"

Marwyn hesitated. He used to know Jaina, if not very well. Could he face her? Tell her what had become of her daughter? He hoped Jaina would be somewhat forgiving and did not feel like killing him afterwards.

* * *

Marwyn's fears were for nothing. With Ethan, Ni'kua, and Rot by his side, Marwyn went to Dalaran. Everyone was celebrating in the streets. Fireworks went off into the sky bursting into bright colors. Alcohol flowed freely, as did people's emotions. It was easy to find Jaina. A few rather cheerful mages told them where to find her. Up in her quarters, obviously Jaina was not celebrating.

She greeted Ethan with surprise, ushering him and the deathknight inside her room. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Marwyn didn't even recognize the proud, confident mage he remembered.

"Ethan, you look awful. What happened to you? Where's my daughter?" She asked desperately.

The boy looked pained. "I'm very sorry, Lady Proudmoore. We were caught by the Lich King. She saved me from being killed. After the Lich King fell, Marwyn and I-"

"Marwyn?" Jaina exclaimed. Ethan, nervous, gestured to the deathknight. Jaina looked over at him, and Marwyn took back a step. But Jaina did not set him on fire or set a water elemental on him. She smiled.

"Marwyn...You took care of my daughter for all these years. You tried to protect her. How could I ever repay you?"

Shock was an understatement of what Marwyn felt. He collapsed onto his knees.

"I failed her though. I couldn't protect her! Now she has been taken by undead for who knows what purpose! She was like my daughter...And I failed her," The deathknight sobbed.

He barely noticed when Jaina put her arms around him. It was a strange feeling to be hugged. Sapphire used to hug Marwyn, but that was different. She was his child, blood related or not. To have someone else hug him was uncomfortable. He killed people.

"You are a better parent than I was. At least you tried your very best," Jaina said, tears rolling down her face again.

Marwyn, after a second, hugged Jaina back.

"My best wasn't good enough. I'm sorry."

Jaina stopped hugging him, and stood up. After brushing herself off, she cleared her throat and wiped her eyes with an already used handkerchief. Ethan stood off to the side unsure of what to do.

"Well then. We will have to go home soon. I...I will try my best to find Sapphire. Is there any arrangements I need to make for you two?"

She started organizing a stack of papers on her desk, occasionally sniffling. Rot trotted over to her, wagging his tail hopefully. She didn't notice the small undead dog.

Ethan glanced over at Marwyn, then back at Jaina. "No. I think Marwyn and I will probably head toward the Grizzly Hills. Not a lot of people for us to bother."

Jaina turned around, frowning. "What are you talking about? You'll do no such thing. We are going home to Theramore. Together."

Marwyn shook his head. "That's a kind offer, but we-"

"It is not an offer, Captain Marwyn. You two are coming home with me. I will not take no as an answer."

She then noticed Rot, down at her feet. Ethan quickly explained that it was Sapphire's dog, originally his. After her initial revulsion, the mage warmed up to the small, energetic puppy. Ni'kua was instantly loved on, and even given some of Jaina's leftovers from her last meal.

As Marwyn listened to Jaina's plans for both him and Ethan, the deathknight only wished Sapphire were there. He hoped she was okay.

* * *

A ship sat out in the open water, still within sight of Dragonblight. The icy wind blew across its furled sails and the silent top deck. The ship was an Alliance one, and had been manned mostly by humans. Now, blood pooled on the wooden deck, already cooled in the freezing weather. It would have to be cleaned up soon before it froze. The bodies were being dragged below decks to the necromancers inside.

Approaching the large ship was a boat that would seat six people. Only three of the four occupants would be mistaken for human. The fourth was a stony gargoyle, sitting at the prow with an excited look on his face.

"Ooh! Look at that!" Tibbles cried out.

The one rowing the boat, the hood over his head shadowing his face, snarled. "Yes, yes. We can see it, you slab of granite. Stop rocking the boat."

Tibbles frowned, looking at the other two hooded figures. One of them was holding onto the other comfortingly. The smaller of the two was clutching a bucket, moaning.

"We are almost at the ship, Your Highness. It won't feel nearly as nauseating on it."

The smaller figure said nothing, only looking up at the deathknight across from her.

"Falric...Where are we going? Why couldn't we stay in Northrend?" The voice sounded weak and scared.

They got close enough to the boat, and the deathknight stood up. A rope ladder hung from the smooth side of the ship. Falric grabbed it, and held out his head.

"We just can't, Sapphire. Come on, now. Do you need help climbing?"

Sapphire scowled underneath her hood. "No. I don't."

She took the proffered rope ladder, and made her way up. A ghoul stood at the top, and helped her onto the deck. Instantly, a cultist came by. He took Sapphire over toward a door.

"Down there. Take a right down the stairs and go straight ahead. You are to have the captain's quarters, Your Highness. Is there anything you need?"

"No," Sapphire said wearily. She made her way to the room, walking over a sleeping geist. The room wasn't large, but it had a chair, desk, and bed. Sapphire instantly collapsed onto the bed, and fell asleep.

Falric entered the room later, joined by Nicci and Zyperias. A cat came running in, and hopped onto the desk. It meowed at a small chest. Zyperias opened it for the animal, who looked in at the phylactery inside.

"Meow."

Nicci went over to Sapphire, and shifted her to put the covers around her. The girl was too exhausted to wake up. The woman stroked the girl's white hair, sighing. The girl was shivering.

It had been two weeks since the Lich King had been killed. There were quite a few undead that still remained loyal to the old Lich King, which extended to Sapphire as well. As soon as their numbers had been large enough, plans had been made. The best one had been to steal some ships and leave the continent. They had been attacked by rogue undead three times, and it seemed too dangerous for them to stay. This was the last ship taken. The other two were well on their way south. A rendezvous was planned to occur in Ratchet, then they would go on to wherever they had decided to keep Sapphire safe.

"She's too vulnerable to take her near any large settlements. Perhaps somewhere isolated," Zyperias suggested.

Falric shook his head. "First, we need to find somewhere that a Scourge presence will go relatively unnoticed. Being too isolated will be dangerous. Is Stratholme an option?"

"No. It is too easily attacked. Scholomance is the same."

A soft moan came from Sapphire. Nicci looked at the San'layn and deathknight. "Boys...We can decide later. For now, let's just leave Northrend."

Zyperias looked over at the mortal woman. "Of course. Sapphire needs her rest."

The two left, leaving Nicci alone with Sapphire. Lily had refused to go with Nicci to join the loyal Scourge. It had hurt her that her other adopted daughter had abandoned her so easily. But Sapphire was Nicci's chief concern now. She had recovered from the concussion she had received, but not from the confusion and depression she faced. Without the Lich King, Sapphire seemed lost. Nicci hoped it was only temporary.

If Falric's plans went accordingly, Sapphire was going to need to be strong. Many things needed to change, though Nicci didn't know if she would like them all. If Marwyn were here, he would protest to everything. A few cultists protested themselves. They wanted Arthas to be brought back. Not for Sapphire to replace him as the Lich Queen. Nicci wasn't entirely sure she wanted that either.

Outside, the ship's sails unfurled. Fresh undead, the sailors that had been killed a while ago, were working the ship as if nothing had happened. Wind blew straight into the cloth, pushing the ship forward, and out into the open ocean. Soon the short of Northrend disappeared. Back in the captain's cabin, Sapphire muttered unhappily in her sleep.


End file.
